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The HOME EDUCATOR 

THE FOUNDATION LIBRARY 


&dltor 

MINNETTA SAMMIS 
LEONARD 

MADISON, WISCONSIN 

associate ScUtor 

PATTy SMITH HILL 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 


CHICAGO 

FOUNDATION DESK COMPANY 






















v 


OCT -1 % 


Copyright 1923 

QUARRIE CORPORATION, Ltd. 

All Rights Reserved 


©CUt60377 

^ E> ( 



r* 

* a 

ir <*. 


THE HOME EDUCATOR 


MINNETTA SAMMIS LEONARD 



PATTY SMITH HILL 

Associate Editor 


LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS 


Editor 


Julia Wade Abbot, 

Kindergarten Specialist, United States Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. 
Cakoline Barbour, 

Principal Kindergarten and Primary Education, State Normal School, 
Superior, Wis. 

Mrs. Anna Mae Brady, 

Kindergarten Instructor, Chicago Latin School, Chicago, Ill. 

Kathleen Edwards, 

Kindergarten Instructor, Teachers’ College, Columbia University, New York 
City. 

Mrs. Louise Fessenden, 

Former Instructor in Kindergarten Methods, Troy, N. Y. 

Bess Eleanor Foster, 

Supervisor of Art, Minneapolis Public Schools, Minneapolis, Minn. 
Ellsworth D. Foster, 

Editor, The World Book, Chicago, Ill. 

Mrs. Madeline Darragh Horn, 

Former Instructor in Kindergarten Methods, Iowa City, la. 

Mrs. Fannie E. Hughey, 

Writer and Lecturer; Founder of the American Child Garden, Los Angeles, Calif. 
Dorothy Reed Mendenhall, M. D., 

Child Specialist, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. 

Helen Parsons, 

Department of Home Economics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. 
Ellen Eddy Shaw, 

Curator of Elementary Instruction, Botanic Gardens, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Bertha M. White, 

Staff Editor, The World Book, Chicago, Ill. 

Elizabeth Wood, Ph. D., 

State Department of Public Instruction, Madison, Wis. 

Elizabeth Young, 

Mistress of Barnard Hall, University of Wisconsin;- former Instructor in 
Kindergarten Methods, Madison, Wis. 




2 


Introduction 


Introduction 

T HE present trend of events encourages the belief that the little child is at 
last coming into his birthright—his unquestioned inheritance of intelligent 
care and education. This is manifested in numberless sporadic but intelligent efforts 
to reduce useless waste in baby life—first, to cut down the shocking mortality in 
early infancy; and second, through continuous oversight, to keep morbidity at a 
minimum. 

The last decade has seen marvelous progress in this preventive work with 
infants and young children, and the future promises still greater progress in child 
welfare through cooperation of the school, the home and the municipality. 

, There is much yet to be done, and all that intelligence and insight can offer 
must be bestowed increasingly on these early years, when every effort pays high 
interest. The young child, which is and ever has been the nation’s greatest asset, 
is still all too often left to chance environment, neglect and unscientific care. 
Our great nation is still willing to spend its millions in safeguarding our crops 
and in improving the quality of our hogs and cattle, while investing a few 
paltry thousands in educational experts to investigate conditions which might 
insure improvement in our human stock. Our national pride should be 
shocked when we face the fact that we still rank agriculture higher in our 
scale of values than an investment in education. 

Until quite recently the curricula of high schools and colleges gave no 
evidence of the fact that those who planned them realized that they were 
training in these institutions those who are soon to assume the duties and 
responsibilities of parenthood. Even in the limited number of colleges which 
have courses in household economics, the curricula in these departments con¬ 
sider more the externals of home-making, centering little attention on the 
setting of family life as the core of importance. In other words, slight atten¬ 
tion is paid to the child, or to family relations, while untold time is given to 
food, clothing, marketing, household budgets and household administration. 

Preparation for the teaching of young children in nursery schools, kinder¬ 
gartens and grades is improving by leaps and bounds. In the high school and 
college of the past, teachers were highly paid for the simple reason that they 
and the public considered it necessary for those teaching in these fields to put 
money, time and effort into college education. For those teaching in the lower 
field it was not supposed necessary. As a consequence, the elementary field 
drew into its service teachers of lower intelligence, personality and culture, poorly 
trained, poorly paid and overworked; they were put into schools poorly built and 
poorly equipped. When we realize that the teachers in this field are the ones who 




Introduction 


3 


are laying the foundations of character, at a period when the child is more impres¬ 
sionable than he will ever be again, we can but wonder that we are so slow of 
heart and so blind to the importance of this neglected end of education. 

We are fortunately beginning now to set the same standards, and event¬ 
ually we shall be able to demand the same high-grade training and salaries 
for teachers of young children as for those in our high schools. Some cities 
and states, especially in the West, have taken the position that a teacher is to 
be paid not for the level of development which she teaches, but for the prep¬ 
aration she has put into her profession, and for her professional ability, 
whether this is to be bestowed upon young children, high school or college 
students. And why not? If education is growth and development, is not 
growth and development at four years, six years and ten years as important 
as growth at fourteen, sixteen or twenty years? Many there are who would 
go still further, and say that to provide all that ministers to growth in early 
years is even more important than all arrangements for later life. Not only 
is this true because of the greater impressionability of early life, but because 
the young child is necessarily more helpless and is more of a victim of his 
environment than in any later period, when he can do something to protect 
himself and educate himself. 

When we study the problem of preparation, transferring it from the field 
of the teacher and the school to the parent and the home, the situation is even 
more discouraging. Here there is practically no preparation required for 
prospective parents—no license, no examination, no scholastic degree. Any 
man or women can enter upon this most serious of all responsibilities of life 
with no questions asked, and no diplomas required. , 

Important as our schools are, and grateful as we are that they are now 
being safeguarded so that no one can teach without preparation—without a 
license, a diploma or a degree—the influence of the mother, the father and 
family—the home—strikes far deeper in making or marring our citizens of the 
future. In one of our greatest penitentiaries it is claimed that statistics prove 
that chauffeurs as a group rank low in intelligence and high in criminality. 
Nevertheless, we do make some poor efforts at least in requiring a test of their 
ability to run automobiles before granting licenses that trust the life of the 
public to their care. But any fool, any criminal, can assume the responsi¬ 
bilities of parenthood, and unless overt physical cruelty can be proved, the 
child may be left to ignorance, neglect and crime. 

Most parents, if they awaken to the serious problem of their calling, do so 
after they have assumed the serious responsibilities of parenthood. Unfortunately, 
untold numbers pass through the whole experience from start to finish with- 




4 


Introduction 


out any realization of the heavy responsibility that rests on them. On the 
other hand, the more thoughtful realize at the last moment, as they face the 
new life coming to them, what they are approaching, and we see them rush¬ 
ing hither and yon, calling on doctors, nurses, teachers, schools and what not, 
to come to their rescue with the knowledge which at the last moment they are 
seeking. And who, may we ask, listens or heeds their call for help? The 
physicians do the best they can at the last moment, and some schools call the 
parents together and offer courses or discussions bearing on home problems. 

The alumnae of our women’s colleges are urging those colleges to do better 
by the mothers of the future than they have done by those of the past and 
present. Unfortunately, most college faculties ignore this call and continue to 
offer curricula for the future far removed from so mundane a sphere as that 
of the parent and the home. 

Some of the great educators saw this need centuries ago. In the sixteenth 
century Comenius wrote his little volume for mothers, called “The School of 
Infancy.” If one can take rather heroic doses of old-fashioned piety and 
irrelevant information, there is still much that can be gained from its study. 

Pestalozzi wrote his book for mothers, and later Froebel not only wrote for 
them but attempted to train them. Failing in his appeal to the mothers, and 
realizing that when once swamped in the problems of motherhood and home¬ 
making a mother can give little time to training for her profession, he decided 
to train young women in the care of children at the pre-school age, and he 
created kindergartens as a means for educating the child and the teacher. In 
selecting this name Froebel attempted to emphasize the fact that the school was 
to be compared to the garden, the teacher or mother to a gardener, the child to 
the growing flower. As an integral part of this new educational institution he 
organized work with parents, especially mothers, and was the first pioneer in 
this untried field. From that day to this, work with mothers has been consid¬ 
ered an integral part of work with children in most kindergartens, and while 
often poorly done, it at least has served to pave the way for more scientific work 
being done with parents in many centers to-day. 

There have been constant calls for help—more and more help—in the home, 
and appeals for books which parents may study, as well as classes for them to 
attend. The supply of books taking up the mother’s own problem in the field in 
which she is the presiding genius have been few. Physicians, nurses and dietitians 
have answered this call better than have the educators. When the body loses 
weight it is more self-evident than the wilted soul or the stunted mind, but the 
parents who discover the former first come to see the moral and social problems, 
as well, and continue the demand for help and preparation. 



Introduction 


5 


Because of these appeals this little volume has been planned. When the 
publishers of this book asked for a volume for parents on their own problems, it 
seemed best to call to my assistance a trained mother, one who had proved her 
ability in both the school and home. In going over the lists of those who were 
conspicuous examples of success in both fields, the name of Mrs. Minnetta Sammis 
Leonard was not to be disregarded. In the management of her own household, 
as wife and mother, she had with rare skill studied and applied the knowledge 
and ability she displayed at a leader in the educational world to the new problem 
of child-care and home-making. The simplicity and modesty of her claims, the 
unpretentiousness with which she has worked out her educational problems in a 
new field, make her a safe guide to help other wives, mothers and home-makers 
in the greatest of all arts, the art of child-rearing and home-making. The art of 
home-making is severely taxed at the present moment because of the rapidly- 
changing conditions and social attractions which make it difficult to keep the 
family life intact, preserving the sacred fire of the hearthstone while marching 
face forward with a progress which apparently threatens rather than contributes to 
the solution of the home problem. 

It has been my privilege and pleasure to work with Mrs. Leonard in planning 
this book, cooperating with her in selecting the experts in each field, and in going 
over manuscripts as they were submitted. But the chief credit for the volume as 
it stands is due to her unfailing effort and her insight into the problem of the 
mother, the family and the home. 


Patty S. Hill. 



Contents 


PAGE 

Introduction. Patty Smith Hill 2 

FOUNDATION STONES 

Our Child Garden. Fannie E. Hughey 9 

Soil and Atmosphere 

Health Habits ...... Dorothy Reed Mendenhall, M. D. 14 

Health Score Card ............. 23 

Signs of Good Nutrition ........... 23 

Signs of Poor Nutrition ........... 23 

Building Through Foods. Helen Parsons 25 

Kinds of Food Necessary for Growth and Health ....... 26 

The Stimulation of Appetite .......... 29 

The Child’s Mind . . . . . . . . Dr. Elizabeth Wood, Ph. D. 30 

A Score Card for Parents ........... 37 

The Parent and His Community ...... Minnetta S. Leonard 38 

INFANCY 

Feeding Schedule for Infants ........ Adapted 41 

Six to Ten Months of Age ........... 41 

Development of the First Six Months ..... Minnetta S. Leonard 43 

Development from Six Months to One Year ........ 45 

Development from One to Two Years ......... 46 

Diary of a Baby from Birth to the Age of Two Years . . Louise M. Fessenden 48 

Physical Development. ........... 48 

Motor Control ............. 52 

Sense Impressions ............ 53 

Imitation .............. 54 

Association ............. 56 

Memory .............. 57 

Imagination ............. 58 

Play ............... 59 

Development of Language . . . . . . . . . . .61 

The Child’s Gymnasium (Three Months to Two Years) .... Adapted 64 

Height Weight Tables for Infants (Boys) . . . . R. M. Woodbury 66 

Height Weight Tables for Infants (Girls) . . . . R. M. Woodbury 67 

Height Weight Table: 15 Months to 6 Years (Boys) . . R. M. Woodbury 68 

Height Weight Table: 15 Months to 6 Years (Girls) . . R. M. Woodbury 68 

EARLY CHILDHOOD 

A Few Suggestions About the Beginning of This Period . Minnetta S. Leonard 69 
Development from Two to Four Years ..... Patty Smith Hill 73 

Mental Development . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 

Food for the Period of Two to Four Years (Sample Diet) ..... 74 

Achievements of the Child of Two ......... 75 

Development of the Three-Year-Old ......... 76 

The Child from Two to Four Years ..... Kathleen Edwards 78 

Physical and Personal Habits .......... 79 

Intellectual Habits ............ 82 

Social-Moral Habits ............ 84 

Emotional Habits ............ 85 

The Equipment of Nursery and Yard ......... 86 

The Indoor Nursery ............ 87 

Yard .............. 88 

Bibliography ............. 88 

His Social Needs from Two to Four Years .... Minnetta S. Leonard 89 

His Plays. Adapted 91 

Montessori in the Home ........... 92 


6 






























CONTENTS 


7 


EARLY CHILDHOOD— Continued 
Basis op Selection op Children’s Toys . 

The Child’s Gymnasium (From Two to Four Years) 

How Making Comes from Playing . 

What Have Parents to Do with This? 

Methods the Child Will Use 
Cautions . 

Drawing . 

Materials . 

Cutting 
Scrap Books 
Blocks 
Modeling . 

Bead Stringing 
Peg Boards 

Designs with Stick Printing 
Esthetic Development of Little Children 
Responding to Music Through Rhythm 
Use of Instruments 
Listening to Melody . 

Learning to Sing 

How Children Teach Themselves 

Sets of Spontaneous Plays Which are of 
Celebration of Special Days 
Thanksgiving 
Easter 
Christmas . 

Patriotic Days . 

St. Valentine’s Day 
May Day . 

Birthdays . 

Children’s Parties 


Especial Value to Girls 


Elizabeth D. Young 
Adapted, 
Minnetta S. Leonard 


Julia Wade Abbot 


Minnetta S. Leonard 
Minnetta S. Leonard 


PAGE 

98 

102 

105 

107 

109 

110 
110 
110 
111 
111 
115 
117 
121 
121 
122 
125 
130 
132 
134 
134 
136 
154 
156 
156 
159 
162 
168 
171 
174 
174 
176 


LATER CHILDHOOD 


The Kindergarten ......... 

What Do Growing Children Need? ..... 

Score Cards .......... 

To Wash for Meals ........ 

Score Card Feeding . • . 

Chart Made to Guide the Child in Personal Uses . 

Teaching Table Manners ....... 

Teaching Common Courtesies ...... 

Golden Keys (Poem) ........ 

Rewards and Fines ........ 

Thrift ........... 

Earning Money ......... 

Spending Money ........ 

Cautions for Parents ........ 

"Safety First” Habits ........ 

Nature Work of all Kinds ....... 

Suggestive Course of Nature Study for Home Work (By Seasons) 
Outline Drawings ........ 

Social Needs of the Child from Four to Seven 

Home Amusements . .. 

Indoor, Outdoor and Party Games. 

Tricks 

Conundrums ......... 

Drawing .......... 

Introductory Note . . 

Instruction in Mass Drawing , , . . 


Minnetta S. Leonard 
Adapted 
. . Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 
. . Adapted 

Minnetta S. Leonard 
Minnetta S. Leonard 


. . Adapted 

Ellen Eddy Shaw 


Minnetta S. Leonard 
Adapted 


Chester H. Lawrence 
Bess Eleanor Foster 


179 

185 

187 

188 
189 

192 

193 

194 

196 

197 

199 

200 
201 
202 

203 

204 
213 
216 
217 
220 
221 
224 
227 
229 
229 
229 



























8 


CONTENTS 


LATER CHILDHOOD—Continued 
His Gymnasium (Four to Seven Years). 

. . Adapted 

PAGE 

238 

The Young Child and His Learning 




Caroline W. Barbour 

240 

The Mother’s Contribution . 




. 

243 

The Child’s Need for His Own Place 





243 

Training in Self-care and Home Activities 

as a Phase of Handwork .... 

248 

Habits and Standards .... 





250 

Handwork Activities in the Home 





251 

Block Building ..... 




. • • . 

255 

Suggestions for Block Building at Home 



. 


255 

Woodwork ..... 


. 


. 

257 

Painting ...... 


. 

. 

• • • 

258 

The Use of Paint Box and Crayons 

. . 

. 

. 

. . . 

259 

Modeling ...... 

, 

. 

. 

, . 

260 

Free-Hand Cutting .... 

, , 

. 

. 

. 

262 

A Word on Design .... 

. 

. 

. 

• . . • 

265 

Making Chains ..... 

. 

. 


. . • 

268 

Dressmaking ..... 


. 

. 


271 

Doll Dressing and Making . 

. 

. 



275 

Making Books ..... 

. 

. 

. 

. 

278 

Making Toys ..... 

. 



. 

282 

Objectives and Results 

. 

. 

. 

. 

288 

When Shall We Teach the "Three R’s’’ 




Minnetta S. Leonard 

290 

What Happens If We Teach Them Too Soon? 



. 

291 

What Experiences Should Precede the Formal Study of School Subjects? . 

293 

Language ...... 




. 

293 

List of Habits to be Established in Six- and Seven-Year-Olds by Parents . Adapted 

301 

Health Habits ..... 


. 

. 

. 

301 

Personal Habits ..... 


. 

. 

. 

302 

Social-Moral Habits .... 

. , 

. 

. 

. 

303 

Intellectual Habits .... 

. . 


. 

. 

303 

Motor Skills ..... 

• 

. 

• 

. 

304 

SCHOOL DAYS 

Reading a Necessary Accomplishment 


Madeline Darrouqh Horn 

305 

Reading Presents Many Problems 





305 

Kinds of Reading—Silent and Oral 





306 

Silent Reading for the Beginners . 




. 

306 

These Cards a Check on Comprehension 





308 

Phonics ...... 




. 

309 

Reading from Books .... 




. 

309 

A Discussion of Method 




. 

309 

The Development of Handwriting . 




Anna Mae Brady 

311 

Number Work ..... 




Anna Mae Brady 

327 

The Development of Number 




328 

Counting ...... 





329 

Arabic Numerals .... 





335 

The Fundamental Processes 





335 

The Clock. 





341 

Speed and Accuracy .... 





342 

The Play Store ..... 





344 

Conclusion ..... 





345 

The Making of Doll Clothes 




Bertha M. White 

346 

The Story of Birds .... 




Bertha M. White 

354 

Birds You Ought to Know . 





360 

The Story of Flowers .... 




. E. D. Foster 

373 

The Story of Kites .... 




. E. D. Foster 

381 

Kite Making ..... 





382 














































1 m >*' ' - - 























































































* 











. 








, 






. 








































Foundation Stones 


9 



Our Qhild Gjarden 
SOIL AND ATMOSPHERE 
Fannie E. Hughey 

O NE day I took a most delightful ride through Golden Gate Park in San 
Francisco. Our guide explained that none of the beautiful trees and 
shrubs we were admiring was a native of the park. Each individual had 
been brought from another place, and by care and cultivation had been made to 
develop in its new home as if it were in its native soil. 

The Scotch heather was blooming as happily as if on the bonny banks and 
braes of its homeland; and any lonesome lad or lassie strolling by might have 
gained a wee bit o’ comfort from the sight. There were hundreds of varieties of 
plants, each giving freely of its beauty and fragrance to gladden the hearts and 
cheer the thoughts of passers-by. 

Soil. More than that, the guide said the soil itself had been brought to give the 
proper feeding to the plants. Only the original atmosphere was there. Plants, 
soil and gardeners had been imported, and all worked together for the result so 
pleasing to the eye. 

As we rode on and on, seeing one beautiful view after another, my mind re¬ 
verted to my Child Garden, and I began to compare. These plants, I thought, do 
not look artificial. They do not look transplanted. They have no air of being 
foreign. They are happy and are growing naturally, expressing themselves with 
unconscious freedom. 

But—yes, that little group of three letters, b-u-t, marks the difference between 
a weed and a flower. The beauty, the fragrance, the worth of each plant must 
be secured by refining, intensifying and increasing native qualities through culti¬ 
vation. No one will say that a weed, however pretty, has the intrinsic value of a 
choice variety of cultivated flowers. Weeds are too common. They have not 
been developed into beauty. They have been allowed to run wild. 

Soil can be improved by the use of fertilizers, or by bringing better earth to 










10 


The Foundation Library 


mix with that which is less fitted to nourish the plants. This requires familiar 
acquaintance with varieties of soil and varieties of organic life, and is part of 
the necessary equipment for a gardener. 

For a successful child-garden, given the human plants and the wise gardeners, 
we must next prepare the soil both to stimulate the plants to exercise, to grow, 
and also to provide an abundance of well-balanced food for the development of 
all parts of the organism. 

Environment. The silent influence of books, pictures and objects of art, har¬ 
monious blending of color in rugs, upholstering, walls and hangings, good music, 
choice language, plenty of sunshine and pure air—all of these stimulate love for 
the beautiful, which Franz Liszt says is “so nearly allied to the good”; they 
establish harmony in the child’s consciousness, which tends to refine and strengthen 
character and lends charm to personality. 

Harmony in the individual organism prepares for adjustment of discordant 
elements in the group. Is it not reasonable to expect these silent influences in 
the early environment of our babies to become so powerful in the building of 
character universally as to prevent wars, sickness and evils of all types, which 
emanate from unharmonious elements in individual life and create discord in 
the group? Think on these things. 

If such miracles of development in plant and animal life can be accom¬ 
plished through environment and culture, why should there be any doubt of 
the wonderful possibilities of human development along spiritual and intellec¬ 
tual lines? And what can we say in defense of so-called educators who split 
hairs over biology, physiology and the development of fine physiques, but who 
scoff at the suggestion of giving to the minds of our children in early life such 
nourishment as shall develop the soul as well as the body ? 

These are serious matters for consideration tending towards practical efforts 
at readjustment of the attitude of parents and voters. 

There is no question before the public of such vital import as the develop¬ 
ment of a better race, particularly along the line of refinement of the type. 

In the face of another threatening world war, we cannot be too zealous, 
fathers and mothers of America, for the purging, purifying, re-creating of a 
system of education which shall subdue, instead of inflame, the passions, which 
shall guide the will and control the thoughts and actions of men and women. 

The soil for the early life which shall strengthen and refine the Character 
and beautify personality must be skillfully prepared by those who have in charge 
the home gardens. The gardener can do what he will, if he begins cultivation in 
time. 

Let us not forget that environment, or the soil in which the baby germinates 





Foundation Stones 


11 


and grows, may be changed to suit the needs of the young life. Every nurse 
and mother should study to “know how” to prepare and preserve the right en¬ 
vironment, either by enrichment of native soil or by transplanting. Every 
father should supply the necessary means and the necessary sympathy, interest 
and help which the mother gardener requires to accomplish her glorious task of 
child-culture in every phase—physical, mental, spiritual, individual, and social. 
No mother can do the work of father, too, in the house; her own duty requires 
all of her energies. 

Change the Sail. Some plants will not bloom if the soil is too rich. They 
live too fast and develop bark and leaves, but neither flowers nor fruit. Some 
children are spoiled by luxury. In both gardens the plants should be placed in 
soil which will not stimulate too much. There should be less variety in environ¬ 
ment, less giving to the child, more effort required to seek to obtain, on the part 
of the growing organism. 

Don’ts for Child Gardeners. Don’t have too many stories. One well told, 
enjoyed and digested is worth more than ten which are confused together and 
forgotten. 

Don’t have too many lessons, or have them too long. The mind becomes 
overtired. Always stop before the child is ready to do so; then he will be eager 
to return to his mental repast next time. 

Don’t play when the mind needs the stimulus of work, lest play become too 
relaxing, too enervating, and the mind becomes too weakened to be able to 
enjoy mental work. 

Children have a stronger instinct for work than for play; and they will work 
hard at their play, if left alone, and, at the same time, will get more real, jolly 
fun out of it, than when it is made too easy. 

Don’t make up all the plays or direct all the work in the nursery. Cooperate, 
encourage, provide a little of the right sort of materials; be a comrade, but not 
a dictator. Don’t give, even of love, to the point of surfeiting. 

Don't say “Don’t”! If you do not want your child to do what he is doing, 
attract him away and say “ do” this for mother, dear! 

Don’t study your own desires. Study your baby's viewpoint. 

Don’t think you must let him have his own way all the time, or to the detri¬ 
ment of others’ rights or privileges. Even baby must learn to “give up,” to 
“obey law,” and to adjust his life to others within his group. 

Don’t reprove or punish a child unless you are sure he is willfully commit¬ 
ting a wrong. Get his viewpoint. A little child is not immoral. He is un¬ 
moral. What seems wrong to your conventional ideas may be absolutely right 
to his natural conception. A CHILD IS NEAR TO NATURE’S HEART, 




12 


The Foundation Library 


AND NATURE’S HEART IS GOD’S. For example, the story is told of a 
child swearing. The child was perfectly right from his viewpoint. He heard 
something that was new, and his instinct of imitation, his instinct of reproduc¬ 
tion, almost forced him to copy. It was no more wrong for the bright little chap 
to speak oaths than it was to say the German words that interested him. 

Don’t mar or destroy baby’s childish treasures, even if they are of no value 
in your eyes. 

Love and Courtesy. The two elements of atmosphere which must exist for 
the perfection of human life are love and courtesy. 

Love is the fulfilling of the law and the motive power of the gospel of truth 
and life. 

“Love works no ill to his neighbor.” 

Love begets love; therefore love protects life. Love expresses itself in kindly 
deeds which win kindly deeds in return. Therefore love’s blossoms are kind¬ 
ness, gentleness, thoughtfulness, self-control and courtesy. Love grows by giv¬ 
ing; love perfects by harmonizing; love develops joy and contentment. There¬ 
fore the exercise of love means growth and beauty. 

Courtesy. Courtesy is one of the greatest assets of success in every phase of 
life. It is one of love’s choicest blossoms. 

I visited a large university not long ago. Not knowing the way, I asked a 
pleasant-faced man what direction I should take. He kindly showed me, and I 
hurried on. I did not consciously miss anything, and I secured the information 
1 sought. Coming off the campus by another path, I again lost my way and to 
make sure of the right avenue, I spoke to a young student who was swinging 
along rapidly with his books under his arm. Without a thought he instinctively 
took off his cap and in a cultured tone of voice directed me. Both gave kindly 
help in need. I was grateful to each; but the young gentleman added grace and 
charm to a matter-of-fact statement, which was as inspiring to my feelings 
as was his direction a guide to my progress. 

Both were good, but the one was charming. I did not need to be told the 
character of the home either represented. The unconscious expression of un¬ 
polished kindness in the one and of instinctive courtesy in the other showed at 
first sight the home culture. Native value is increased by culture. 

Begin to study atmosphere and environment, parents, before your baby 
arrives in your family. You should know how to begin culture so early in your 
child’s life that all the qualities you desire in him may be natural and instinctive 
rather than acquired and artificial. The only way to make sure your son shall 
be a true gentleman and a good man is to make home and parenthood that which 
is worth copying. 



Foundation Stones 


13 


Know Your Plants. Love and courtesy breed intelligence. No one can cul¬ 
tivate a garden unless he loves his work sufficiently to desire to study soil, atmos¬ 
phere, environment, together with the nature of each plant. Practical tests of 
thousands of plants will not insure the right treatment of the one plant. Indi¬ 
vidual care is the only sure way to successful gardening in home, school or busi¬ 
ness. However well the gardener may know the species in general, his wide 
knowledge must not preclude the study of and attention to the individual. It is 
always the new or original type for which the expert gardener is watching, and 
he generally finds it where least expected. 

The home is the best place in which to study the individual. Love necessarily 
makes parents the most intelligent, the most patient, the most persevering of all 
child gardeners, because love presents the greatest urge to thoroughness than can 
be given. If parents find themselves thinking, as I heard one mother say, “Oh, 
children are such bores!” they are in the wrong place. All mothers are not 
frank enough to say it, but far too many feel this terrible emotion. Such women 
should never marry. This question should be squarely faced before any woman 
consents to be guilty of producing a garden of weeds. 

Interest. Interest prevents fatigue. Interest stimulates to study and effort. 
Love begets interest. Therefore love is essential to successful gardening—love 
for God, for humanity, for progress, for country, in general, but particularly and 
directly, love for one’s own little garden spot, love for one’s own opportunity, 
love for one’s own work and love for one’s own seed. 

Thus love works from circumference to center and from center to circum¬ 
ference. Love broadens the view while it concentrates the effort. 

Love begets interest and leads to intelligence. Love expresses itself cour¬ 
teously and receives great returns for investment. Love is critical of self and 
generous and gentle toward others. Love is patient, untiring, persistent, unsel¬ 
fish. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law and the measure of the worth of 
the gospel. 

With all thy getting, get love. 

Do It Now. If you are unmarried, my reader, begin now to prepare for 
home gardening, for in the twinkling of an eye, the unexpected may happen. 
Do not delay. If you are married, improve your inadequate preparation, for 
one never can know too much. Do it now. 

If your preparation is theoretical, get right down to practical work in your 
child garden. If you have no child garden, start one now; the world is full of 
choice young human plants that need transplanting. 

Culture, environment, love can and will overcome heredity. Try it; and do 

it now. 



14 


The Foundation Library 



Health Habits 


Dorothy Reed Mendenhall, M. D. 

A PPARENTLY as soon as conception has occurred, the inherited physical 
/A and mental traits of the child are settled. Although it is true that the 
level can not be raised, the environment can bring out and best develop 
these possibilities, or, on the other hand, may ruin or fail to develop good 
potentialities. 

The environment of the child consists briefly of the mother, during the 
nine months of intra-uterine life; the home, including the parents as well as 
the inanimate setting; the community, the immediate neighborhood and the 
surrounding larger society, and the school. The physical and mental possibilities of 
the child may be made or marred from the time of conception to adolescence, as it 
passes through the influence of one after another of these environmental agencies. 

The duty of parents in giving their child the most favorable possible en¬ 
vironment, as well as a clean, normal inheritance, is becoming more generally 
appreciated. The importance of citizens being well nurtured as well as well¬ 
born is felt by the state to such an extent that to-day parents of low moral 
standards who either will not or cannot furnish the right home environment 
for the child are forced to give up their offspring to the care of the state. In 
all sorts of ways the state attempts to safeguard the physical, mental, and moral 
well being of the young growing up in a normal home environment. 

The educational advantages that are supplied our children have received 
a new and most important development in the last few years. Health educa¬ 
tion has been made part of the school curriculum, where health habits are now 
taught and malnutrition corrected. And recently, throughout the country, the 
attempt has been made to reach back into the home and see that children are 
given the right health start. This has been made possible by the foundation of 
health centers, places where mothers can go to receive free advice from trained' 





























Foundation Stones 


15 


persons regarding the feeding and hygienic care of themselves and their babies 
and young children. 

The modern conception of the duty of parents to children consists of two 
equally important aims. The first has as its object the best possible physical 
and mental development of the child from infancy to maturity—to insure the 
turning out of the best possible finished product with the materials given. The 
second aim is bit by bit, year by year, to teach the child to understand and to 
control himself. 

Many parents fail to see the importance of this second aim, yet they fully 
realize that a perfect machine can be ruined by a poor driver. Feeling that 
their control is surer and safer than that of the immature child, they either do 
not help the child to an understanding of the way he is made and how he func¬ 
tions, or do not gradually have him take the responsibility of the care and 
control of himself while under home supervision. Sometimes they fail in both 
particulars. Blind obedience is demanded of the child, while he is shackled by 
ignorance and weakened by indulgence and service. 

Happily the best physical and mental health of the growing child can be 
developed at the same time that he is taught independence and given responsi¬ 
bility for keeping himself fit and experience in controlling his own activities. 
This cooperation of the parents and the child makes in the end for a closer 
union than even the natural tie of blood, for a partnership has been developed, 
which has for its aim the promotion of the well-being and ultimate best success 
of the child. 

The consideration and importance of parental control underlies the whole 
subject of normal growth and development in childhood. 

The important health habits or means of promoting health and efficiency 

are: 

1. The proper amount and variety of food, and correct food habits. 

2 . Sufficient fresh air, indoors and outdoors. 

3 . An early bed hour, and the number of hours of sleep indicated by 
the age and temperament of the child. 

4 . Proper elimination; daily evacuation of the bowels. 

5 . Cleanliness, especially of hands and face before eating. Frequent 
changing of underclothes and stockings. 

6 . Correct posture and gradual muscular development. Plenty of 
outdoor play. 

7 . Protection from bodily injury, defect, respiratory blockage, mal¬ 
nutrition, fatigue or nervous shock. 

8 . Protection from disease germs. 



16 


The Foundation Library 


The physical and mental development of the child may be retarded or pro¬ 
moted by intelligent parental control of these different health essentials. These 
hygienic habits are mutually dependent and interactive. The first lessons in obedi¬ 
ence and self control are obtained in the gentle insistence of the young mother 
that for her baby’s own good he shall have regular hours for taking food, for 
bathing, sleeping and being aired. 

Since we are born with no habits, good habits, physical and mental, rather 
than bad ones, can be developed in any normal child. The hereditary tempera¬ 
ment of one child may make it more difficult to develop the proper paths of conduct 
than in another child. To train a child well takes intelligent understanding of the 
nature of the child and the desired end, sympathy and patience. A growing organ¬ 
ism cannot be finally molded in a moment. Persistence and firmness in both 
parents are needed from birth on, but more even than these, patience and the power 
of building slowly without losing sight of the ultimate goal. 

In another section foods, feeding and health habits have been discussed. For 
this reason, we shall begin with our second hygienic point. 

The great advantage of fresh air is not its larger oxygen 
content but its relative freedom from impurities, both organic 
and inorganic. Indoor air is apt to be stale and full of con¬ 
taminations. Outdoor air is usually moving, relatively purer 
and cooler. 

Cold air stimulates deep respiration, and so brings about 
a greater interchange of gases in the lung. Moving air blows 
away the expired air from about our faces and enables us to 
inspire purer unused air. For these reasons, fresh air in sleeping and living 
rooms promotes health in children. Outdoor airing and play in suitable weather 
is an added benefit. The rays of the sun are directly beneficial, and promote 
normal growth. (Over-exposure in hot weather is, however, actually dangerous.) 

Young children should never be taken into large indoor assemblies of people. 
It is inexcusable to allow children under school age to go to movies. The possi¬ 
bility of acquiring disease germs, the curtailing of hours of sleep, besides the 
undesirable nervous excitement, should make any wise parent hesitate to allow 
such forms of amusement for the young child. 

Adenoid growth and enlarged tonsils always impair health, if they are 
sufficient to block the nasal passages. A child cannot obtain for some reason 
enough of the right sort of air through the mouth for the needed purpose of 
oxidation. Mental and physical stunting follow any deprivation or curtailing of 
oxygen. 

The amount of sleep needed by a child depends not only on his age, but his 









Foundation Stones 


17 


state of physical development and his nervous condition. There is great difference 
in the amount of sleep needed by the adult individual; probably these differences 
could be observed in childhood. All children need an abundance of sleep while 
in the period of recuperation and possibly greatest growth. 

After the first year of life, until the school age, a child should be given a 
chance for twelve hours sleep at night and a nap or rest period after the mid-day 
meal. From school age to puberty, at least eleven hours sleep at night should be 
allowed. Many active children of this age will sleep twelve hours, if the oppor¬ 
tunity is given. A highly nervous child should not be in school and should still 
take a nap or mid-day rest. All during adolescence, nine to ten hours sleep at 
night is a necessity for the average child. 

Few children are in bed enough hours to allow them sufficient sleep. Most 
children are regularly deprived of sleep. In order to allow time for sleep, an 
early bed hour is absolutely necessary. The average young child wakes up in the 
morning when the room is light; outside noise and the commotion of other mem¬ 
bers of the household may help to waken him. For all these reasons and to insure 
enough sleep, an early, regular bed hour should be insisted on. Next to food, 
insufficient sleep seems to affect the general development and growth of the child 
most seriously. The nervous condition of children is also greatly affected by lack 
of sleep and rest. 

Proper Elimination. Getting rid of waste material is just as important to 
smooth running of our machine as stoking the engine. Even when this point is 
realized, we are apt to forget that we have a number of drains and that improper 
care or clogging of any one of these may affect the others. This is specially true 
in time of body strain or illness. 

We lose the gaseous waste largely by the lungs. Solid waste is gotten rid 
of through the evacuations of the bowels, the kidneys, and the skin. The habit 
of having a daily bowel movement at a regular time promotes health, and should 
be established in infancy. To establish it, we must first of all see that the diet has 
sufficient bulk. The indigestible portions of vegetables and fruits, and the outer 
layer of whole cereals (bran) stimulate the activity of the intestinal movements and 
promote the emptying of the bowels. Many fruits, either from their sugar con¬ 
tent, organic acids, or seeds and cellulose, have a specially laxative effect on most 
individuals. Drinking sufficient water also makes the passage of the food through 
the bowels easier. 

The normal desire to have a bowel movement follows the filling of the 
stomach. For this reason, and also for the purpose of establishing the habit, a 
child should be sent to the toilet immediately after breakfast. It is the duty of 
the mother to see that he goes regularly, and is not hurried. Many children give 


•) 



18 


The Foundation Library 


up the habit of a regular evacuation at a stated time because they get up too late 
to have sufficient time before school, and if not attended to at the beginning of the 
day’s activities then that important matter is apt to be neglected. The prevention 
of constipation is so important that all children must be watched in this respect. 
Little children should not be permitted to go to an outside toilet in cold weather, 
but should use a commode in the house. The effect of cold, like the anxiety to get 
to school, usually has the effect of putting off the evacuation and so breaking up 
this good habit. 

The care of the kidneys is promoted by drinking plenty of water. Even the 
infant should be given a drink of water between his meals when he is awake. 
Little children should be taught to drink water between meals. Cold water taken 
on an empty stomach the first thing in the morning stimulates the digestion and 
the activity of the bowels. Constipation can frequently be cured by taking a glass 
of cold water on rising and half hour before meals, and by eating a fruit meal 
such as an orange, an apple, and two or three figs before retiring. 

The skin is constantly oozing waste material through its pores. The cleans¬ 
ing off of this waste material by the daily bath not only keeps the skin in good 
condition, but it promotes health. A daily tepid sponge, tub or shower bath is 
good for the average child. The skin should not be soaped daily (except the 
hands), for this removes the natural oil and makes the skin harsh. Only bland 
soaps made with vegetable oils should be used for children, and even then the less 
soap used on the skin the better. Hot baths are unwise, as well as unnecessary. 
Warm water removes waste and freshens the skin. Hot baths tend to over¬ 
stimulate children, and frequently the dilation of the superficial blood vessels 
may be followed by chilling of the surface, and result in the child taking cold. 
Very cold baths are usually unwise for young children, as they are apt not to 
react well. A large amount of energy is also used up in making up for the heat 
lost this way, and for the small child this is not desirable. 

Cleanliness. Elimination of body waste is made easier 
if the clothing worn next to the body is changed frequently. 
Stockings should be changed at least every other day, and 
where feet perspire freely, a daily change should occur. The 
dust from the ground uniting in the moisture from the feet 
frequently causes a boardlike stocking which is uncomfortable 
and bad for the feet. The children of the poor are only too 
apt to sleep in their underclothing; this is an unwise practice, 
forthechange of clothing day and night promotes the function 
of the skin. In uncleanly surroundings separate night clothes 
are a necessity, to prevent body vermin from multiplying. 











Foundation Stones 


19 


Careful washing of the hands and face will materially help to reduce infectious 
disease in children. We know that the mouth is the chief portal of entrance for 
disease germs, and that the hands are the unual means by which these germs are 
carried to the mouth. Young children should not be allowed to put their hands 
or any object or plaything into their mouths. They should be taught to wash 
their hands always after using the toilet, before meals, at bed time, and whenever 
soiled. Boys are usually very much harder to train in personal cleanliness than 
girls. From the time the first teeth are cut, they should be cleaned twice a 
day. Brushing the teeth carefully and regularly after meals and always before 
going to bed should be taught as soon as the child can hold the tooth brush. Good 
teeth are maintained only by constant care. Any cavities should be filled as soon 
as they appear; the care of the first teeth markedly affects the condition of the 
permanent set. Diseased teeth are a real source of menace to any individual, and 
a general infection of the blood may follow a localized source of infectious 
material. The nutrition of the child is also frequently seriously impaired by 
poor teeth. 

Muscular Development. The new-born child has relative to his size only 
half the muscle material of the adult. The leg muscles of an infant or young 
child are developed earlier and to a much greater degree than the arm muscles. 
The shoulder girdle and arm muscles of the young child are lacking or are weak. 
By the end of the first year, the baby is constantly moving and using his legs and 
so developing his leg muscles. The young child is in constant motion. Muscular 
development of the upper extremities can be promoted by massage and by regular 
exercises to develop the shoulder muscles, but usually does not take place until 
the child takes part in games such as baseball, tennis, basket ball, or until he 
learns to swim. 

Incorrect posture is easily acquired during the early years of life, when the 
muscles are weak and poorly developed. Often, too, from early improper feeding, 
the bones may be irregularly calcified and therefore relatively soft and yielding. 
One of the definite signs of rickets is a bowed back and inability in an infant 
to sit up at the usual age. 

A great deal of harm is done if the child is allowed to slouch, stand or sit 
with an improper balance of the chief weight segments of the body upon one 
another. The head should be balanced on the chest, the chest on the pelvis, and 
the pelvis on the legs, so that the least possible muscular effort is needed to keep 
them in this position. If the head, chest, or pelvis is held out of balance at center 
in relation to the median line of the whole structure, more effort has to be made 
to keep it in this position, and nervous fatigue quickly results from this pro¬ 
longed and unnecessary work of the muscles and ligaments. 



20 


The Foundation Library 


It is harmful to stand or sit improperly; it is worse to exercise or do 
physical work in a strained position. Not only is nervous strain and fatigue 
increased by muscular effort in a bad posture, but if the chest or pelvis is held in an 
unnatural position, there may be pressure on the internal organs, seriously inter¬ 
fering with their function. This is best seen in the so-called “debutante slouch,” 
or fatigue position, where the young girl seems to break in the middle, standing 
with her chest caved in and her abdomen protruding. On the other hand, the 
extreme “military position,” forcing the chest out, is equally bad for the boy, as 
the chest is held up and out of normal alignment. The muscular effort that is 
necessary to hold this unnatural balance again limits the expansion of the lungs. 
The subject of posture should be studied by parents, as the weak muscles and 
soft bones of the young child may cause actual deformity if the habit of standing 
or sitting improperly in the early years is persisted in. 

A simple method to show the correct way of standing is to back yourself 
against a flat surface, such as a door, and try to stand in such a way that you touch 
the door with as much of the back surface of the body as possible. In doing this, the 
curves of the neck, middle of the back and legs are somewhat eliminated. The 
chin is forced in, the spine straightened, while the arms should hang loosely from 
the shoulder girdle. Then by walking away from the door, and if a long mirror 
is near, you may see, if you have followed the directions, what it means to stand 
correctly. 

The child tends to sit, while reading, in a slouching position, often literally 
on the middle of his spine. Reading with the eyes too close to the book is another 
clanger often accompanying bad reading posture. Serious eye trouble may be 
developed in this way. 

Nutritional disorders such as rickets may produce abnormal bone changes 
in the leg and foot. Infants when first walking should be watched to see that 
they bear their weight properly on their feet. Walking on the inside of the foot 
happens commonly in children with even slight knock-knee. As a result, lengthen¬ 
ing of the tendons of the inside of the foot occurs, which may be followed by a 
letting down of the arch of the foot. This may be obviated by building up the 
heel on the inside until the back of the foot and leg are in a straight line. Wedg¬ 
ing the foot into this straight position helps correct the deformity, but the strength¬ 
ening of the foot and toe muscles by flexion and extension exercises must be 
carried out simultaneously to get the best result. Flat-foot can be largely pre¬ 
vented by caring for the foot of the growing child. 

While short shoes and stockings may produce deformed toes, corns and bun¬ 
ions, too large shoes are equally harmful, since they let the foot down into the 
toe of the shoe and so tend to weaken the arch of the foot. 





Foundation Stones 


21 


Every parent realizes that one of his duties is to protect the young child 
from experiencing physical injury due to lack of mature judgment and experi¬ 
ence. Any parent allowing an infant to handle firearms or to run unrestrained 
in a street full of busy traffic would be censured by the entire community. Such 
accidents are generally felt to be due to gross negligence on the part of the parents. 

Allowing a child to be constantly overfatigued by curtailing its hours of sleep 
and rest, by overstimulating it mentally by precocious development of its immature 
brain, or allowing it unsuitable amusements for its years, should be considered 
just as great evidence of lack of parental protection. The loss of an arm or leg 
is evident; the invisible maiming of the nervous system of the growing child 
impairs its future possibilities to a much greater extent. A child at birth exhibits 
little if any fear. The young child should be protected from fright and all manner 
of nervous shock which may leave an indelible scar and subconsciously alter his 
future reactions and development. Of all nervous shocks, sex shocks do the great¬ 
est damage and have the most far-reaching effect on the future of the child. 

The child before school age should be under the actual supervision of a 
careful, understanding adult. Since this is the period of solitary play, the child 
is just as contented at home as at field, and if a suitable place to play indoors and 
outdoors is afforded—a sand box, dishes, a few constructive toys or tools, an 
equipment for imitating household activities such as a doll washing and ironing 
equipment—the average child under six will amuse himself. A back yard or a 
porch and a play corner in the house have the great advantage of keeping him 
within sight and hearing of his natural guardian. As the desire to play with 
others develops, and this is rare before four, by cooperation mothers in a neighbor¬ 
hood can watch over a small group of children at play, turn about. By the time 
the child is in school habits of self control and self restraint and courteous behav¬ 
iour should have been so fixed that a child can be trusted to carry out, away from 
supervision, the standards of conduct demanded at home. A mother should, how¬ 
ever, know where a child is outside of school hours, and with whom he plays. The 
habit of reporting after school and accounting for himself should be kept up 
through the school period. It need not be made irksome or humiliating to the 
older child, and is not, if he is made to feel his parents’ affectionate interest and 
solicitude for his pleasure and welfare. 

Improper food and feeding habits may result in malnutrition. Repeated 
colds and nose and throat infections, especially where there are marked climatic 
changes, may result in the development of adenoid tissue or enlarged tonsils in 
the naso-pharynx. Both of these abnormal growths of tissues are subject to 
disease and may result in the infection of adjacent tissue, such as the ears, 
or be the cause of physical or mental retardation. 



22 


The Foundation Library 


Such defects can often be prevented, but when this is impossible they can be 
cured or removed by proper medical treatment. Keeping the naso-pharynx clean, 
avoiding proximity to nose colds, observing proper brushing of teeth and dental 
repair from the time of the appearance of the first teeth, will do much to prevent 
defect and disease and to promote health. 

All such defects tend to appear in the pre-school age. If present, they 
should be remedied before the child goes to school. Their continued presence 
retards physical and mental development. Once recognized, the sooner remedied 
the better. 

The last hygienic point which rests with the parent is the protection of the 
child from infectious disease. Any acute infectious disease, even such a mild 
infection as chicken pox, may cause the death of a child. Thousands of lives 
are sacrificed annually to the so-called harmless children’s diseases. Every disease 
is liable to leave some part of the body permanently damaged. It may be only a 
minor part, but many diseases cause serious permanent injury to a vital organ. 
The only way to prevent the chance of death or disability from infectious diseases 
is to lessen their occurrence. 

Probably the chief harm infectious diseases do is to stunt normal growth and 
development. The vitality needed for growth has to be spent in combating disease. 
If this happens at a critical period of development, the retardation of growth 
may result in permanent maldevelopment. The deformity of teeth due to nutri¬ 
tional changes brought about by a serious infection coinciding with a particular 
stage of their development is well known. A similar blasting by disease toxins 
of a vital organ, such as the heart, or the kidneys, or the brain, may be unseen, 
but is much more serious. 

Protection of the neighbor’s child will result if the duty of parents towards 
the protection of their own children from the common infectious diseases of 
childhood is fully realized and carried out. 

Lastly, if the health habits are properly developed under correct parental con¬ 
trol, the result can be told by the average annual growth, in height and weight and 
the general good nutritive condition of the child. The long-legged children, who 
are always tall for their age, are usually slender. They grow so fast in length that 
it is difficult to keep them well covered with flesh. With this exception, a normal 
child should not only be up to height and weight for his age group, but should 
show a steady average annual increase in height and weight through the years of 
growth. If his health habits have been well established, and there is no serious 
defect or disease to prevent this, regular growth will surely occur, and with it 
steady mental and physical development. If a child is under weight, or seriously 
under height, it is a parent’s business to learn the cause and correct it. 



Foundation Stones 


23 


The following synopsis of the chief attributes of good nutrition may be 
found of assistance to parents in making an estimate of the condition of their own 
children: 



Health Score Card 


GOOD NUTRITION SIGNS OF POOR NUTRITION 


Average for height (less 
weight for slender, long- 
legged type) or plump. 
Rosy 

Filled out, elastic. 

Clear. 

Clean and pink. 

Sweet. 

Pink. 

Bright. 

Glossy, smooth. 

Sound, clean, cared for. 

Flat on back, even. 

Firm, definite “substance.” 
Well-developed, firm. 
Rounded, not distended. 
Erect, segments of body prop¬ 
erly poised, step elastic. 


Usually happy and good-na¬ 
tured, tractable. 


Weight 


Color 

Skin 

Complexion 
Tongue 
Breath 

Mucous Membrane 
Eyes 

Hair 

Teeth 

Shoulders 

Flesh 

Muscles 

Abdomen 

Carriage 


Disposition 


Under average weight for 
height, thin, emaciated 
(may be overfat or obese). 

Pale, waxlike, sallow, putty. 

Loose, hanging in folds. 

Often blemishes. 

Coated. 

Foul. 

Pale, colorless. 

Dull, sunken, surrounded with 
dark or bluish circles. 

Rough and dull. 

Decayed or dirty. 

Rounded or winged. 

Flabby. 

Under-developed, flabby. 

Flat, depressed, distended. 

Head not erect, shoulders and 
hips uneven, chest sunken, 
abdomen protruding, atti¬ 
tude and step slouching. 

Irritable, timid, difficult to 
manage, nervous, unusually 
excitable, depressed. 





24 


The Foundation Library 


Bright and alert. 

Active mentally and physical¬ 
ly. Ability to concentrate 
attention. 

Full of life. 

Good, regular, daily bowel 
movements. 

Good, not restricted to few 
foods. Regular meals. 

Sound. Long hours. Early 
bed hours. 


Expression 

Activity 


Digestion 

Appetite 

Sleep 


Dull, petulant or pained. 

Listless, easily fatigued. 

Usually lacking both mental 
and physical vigor or in¬ 
terest. 

May be over-active. 

Frequently disturbed diges¬ 
tion, or constipated. 

Poor, capricious or “finicky.” 
Irregular eating. 

Light, disturbed, restless. In¬ 
adequate amount. 


































Foundation Stones 


25 



building Through Foods 

Helen Parsons 

S EEING is not always believing! Especially is this true in the case of 
changes which take place very slowly and gradually before one’s eyes. The 
world is full of the most striking proofs that proper selection of food is 
one of the greatest factors upon which health and normal development depend. 
And yet one is constantly confronted with the blindness and indifference of 
mothers to grave violation of food health rules in the case of their own children. 
This is to be attributed largely to the fact that penalties, in the form of ill health, 
may be so gradually inflicted as not to be perceived, or at least not attributed 
to their real causes. 

Perhaps you may have seen a moving picture in which everything is speeded 
up until movement is many times its usual rate. Shown in this guise, the growth 
of a flower is truly startling. Its tendrils curl, its leaves expand, and its buds 
open with snappy jerks. You probably had not realized before that plants have 
any motion, because it is too slow to be detected by the eye without the aid of 
such a speeded-up film. The method that scientists now employ for studying 
our food needs has a certain resemblance to this speeding up of very slow move¬ 
ments. They select a very small animal which needs a relatively brief space of 
time in which to grow to maturity, reproduce, grow old and die. Such an animal, 
caged, and fed all its life some monotonous diet of certain foods that are to be 
tested, reveals very startling and pronounced results. 

If the food mixture contains all the ingredients necessary for growth and 
health, the monotony of the diet will not interfere with its success. The animal 

















26 


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will thrive and live to a ripe old age. However, if the food mixture is unsatis¬ 
factory, the little animal does not grow normally. If the food mixture is suffici¬ 
ently poor, the animal may never grow to adult size, and may even die with some 
disease caused by the absence from its diet of a necessary food substance. Or, 
the scientist may observe other indications that the diet is not satisfactory. He 
may observe a mother animal, when restricted to certain foods, unable to suckle 
her young. He may observe that on some diets, teeth and bones are very defect¬ 
ive and fragile; or that the animals after growing up become old and feeble very 
rapidly and die before their normal span of life is completed. 

When one thinks about it, it is perfectly evident that these things also happen 
to the human race. But they happen so slowly that they do not claim the 
attention that they should, and the pity is that the first warnings so easily escape 
detection! Underweight as a signal of danger has at last won the attention and 
respect of a fairly wide public. But the equally important warnings of flabby 
flesh; nervous tension; inertia; drooping posture; pale, pasty complexion; poor, 
bony framework, and decaying teeth, still go too often unnoticed. Too frequently, 
also, the connection is not noticed between them and their sequels of inefficiency, 
breakdown and ill health. From animal experiments and observations on people 
we know so surely now what these sequels are, and what food habits are safe¬ 
guards against them, that it seems strange that any mother should wait for warn¬ 
ing signals instead of safeguarding the child from the beginning by correct food 
habits. 

KINDS OF FOOD NECESSARY FOR GROWTH AND HEALTH 

i. Tissue Building Foods and Body Regulating Foods. These foods must 
supply the “raw material” for the constantly growing young body. Chief among 
them are the following: 

(a) Protein. This forms a part of every tissue in the body. Milk, meat, cheese, 
eggs and beans are familiar protein foods. Some proteins are not very 
efficient building material, and for this reason it is necessary that at least 
60 per cent of the protein supply for a child should come from animal 
sources for the reason that these proteins are more like our own body 
tissues. 

(b) Mineral Matter. Calcium (lime), phosphorous and iron are the three 
mineral substances most frequently present in too small amounts in the diet 
of the growing'child. There is no other source of calcium and phosphorous 
nearly so good as milk. Leafy vegetables contribute a considerable amount, 
if taken in large quantity, but milk is the safest source for children. One 
and one-half pints to one quart of milk should be taken each day by every 




Foundation Stones 


27 


child until he is at least fifteen years of age. A pregnant or nursing mother 
should drink a quart of milk a day in order that the infant may be well 
nourished and that her own tissues, such as her teeth, shall not suffer. The 
permanent teeth of the baby are being formed in the jaw during the 
time he is being nursed! To furnish a sufficient supply of iron, other foods, 
such as spinach, egg yolk, graham bread and prunes are necessary in the 
diet. Minerals regulate body processes as well as furnish tissue-building 
material. 

( c) Vitamines. It is known that neither animals nor people will grow and re¬ 
tain health if the diet does not contain certain substances beside protein, fat 
carbohydrate, mineral matter and water. No one knows yet what these sub¬ 
stances are chemically, but we know something of the effects on the body 
of the absence of at least four of these so-called vitamines. Commercial 
concerns have been quick to seize an advantage and have advertised exten¬ 
sively some proprietary preparations which are supposed to contain these 
vitamines. The purchase of these preparations cannot be too strongly con¬ 
demned, as many of them have been shown to contain only insignificant 
amounts of vitamine and they are at best a poor investment of money which 
could more profitably be spent for foods containing not only these vitamines 
but other necessities. 


Vitamin A. Especially important sources of this vitamin are the following: 
Milk fat: whole milk, cream. Many green - colored vegetables: 

Cod liver oil. spinach, lettuce, string beans. 

Egg yolk. Many yellow colored vegetables: car- 

Tomato. rots, yellow sweet potatoes. 

Vitamin B. This is found very widespread in vegetables, in the legumes and in 
whole grains. Especially rich sources are these: 


Tomato. 
Cabbage. 
Spinach. 
Vitamin C. 


This prevents scurvy. It 


String beans. 

Whole wheat or graham flour. 

Liver (but not muscle-cuts of meat), 
is found in fresh-growing tissues, as 
fruits and vegetables, but is easily injured in most foods by drying and 
heating; so it is the safest plan for the diet of the child to contain each day 
some citrous fruit or raw vegetable or canned tomato. Especially important 
sources are the following: 

Tomato raw. Raw cabbage. 

Tomato canned. Lettuce. 

Orange juice. Grated: carrots, turnips, rutabagas. 

Lemon juice. 



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A fourth vitamin has been discovered which has to do with regulating the 
building of bones and teeth and the prevention of rickets. Cod liver oil, and to 
a much less extent butter fat, are known to be sources of this vitamin. Very 
little is known about other sources. 

All of these vitamines, as far as we know, are absent, or practically so, from 
the following foods: 

White flour. Lean muscle-cuts of meat. 

Starch. Bacon. 

White bread. Lard. 

Sugar. Lard substitutes. 

Syrup. 

Therefore, a diet made up too largely of these foods, to the exclusion of 
fresh vegetables and fruits, is a deficient diet. On the other hand, a diet con¬ 
taining plenty of milk fat, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables is abundant¬ 
ly safeguarded, and there is no further benefit to be expected from the use of 
expensive commercial vitamin tablets, even if they contain vitamin, which is 
often doubtful. 

2. Energy-Giving Foods. Energy-giving foods are to be found among the 
cereals, legumes, sugars, starch and fats of the diet, as well as in fruits, vegetables 
and protein foods. Many energy foods, such as refined cereal products and vege¬ 
table fats, are relatively very cheap, and attractive desserts and other dishes 
can be made from these; so the danger is usually not that we shall lack energy-foods, 
but that we shall use too large a proportion of those which do not supply any¬ 
thing but energy. The wrong way to plan a menu is to select these energy-foods 
first. The right way is to include first the body-building and regulating foods 
and then complete the menu with foods supplying only energy. 

The diet should contain a sufficient proportion of these energy-foods in the 
form of a fat. One-third of the total calories of the diet in the form of fat is 
considered a satisfactory proportion. 

3. Water. The very ease with which pure water can be secured perhaps 
makes us careless of its place in the diet as one of the essential foods. The taking 
of an abundance of water, especially the glass on rising, has much to do with 
keeping the digestive tract in a healthy condition, free from constipation. If 
too-cold water is avoided, there is no reason why water may not be taken at meal¬ 
time, although a glass half an hour to an hour before meal-time has a greater 
effect in stimulating the secretion of digestive juices. An abundance of water 
is also extremely important in hot weather, for the purpose of regulating body 
temperature. Little babies, who cannot ask for a drink, may suffer extremely 
in hot weather for lack of water. 



Foundation Stones 


29 


4. Roughage. The use of too great a proportion of bland foods, such as 
bread, sugar, meat, cake, crackers, etc., is one very frequent cause of con¬ 
stipation. Undigested material is of advantage in the digestive tract, in keeping 
it in a healthy condition. This material may be secured in such foods as vege¬ 
tables, fruits and whole grains. There is some objection, in the case of children, 
to the use of too harsh fibrous material, such as coarse stalks of celery and large 
servings of bran, because the delicate lining of the digestive tract may be easily 
injured. Equally good results in any event may be secured with a sufficient 
amount of more tender, finely-divided roughage, as that in chopped cabbage, grated 
carrots and turnips, cooked vegetables of all kinds, and the pulp of fruit. 

THE STIMULATION OF APPETITE 

A poor appetite may be attributed to one or more of the following causes: 

1. Too Little Vitamin B in the Diet. It has been found by experiments with 
animals that a diet deficient in vitamin B will cause a decline in the appetite and 
ultimately a failure to eat enough food to maintain body weight. In a diet con¬ 
sisting too largely of bread, meat, cake, pudding and candy, it is quite possible to 
include so little Vitamin B in a child’s diet as to affect his appetite. The remedy 
is to increase the amount of citrous fruits and fresh vegetables. 

2. Irregular Meals. There should be regular meal hours, and the child 
should be required to spend a reasonable time at the table, instead of being allowed 
to return to play as soon as he may desire to do so. It is also necessary to see 
that the child arises in the morning in abundant time for an unhurried breakfast, 
and has ample time for the midday meal, if this is between sessions of school. 

3. Too Frequent Meals. Three meals a day allows the best distribution 
of food for the normal child after three years of age. Physicians have found 
that children with poor appetites often have a delayed emptying of the stomach 
contents into the intestine. These children are not hungry, with a portion of a 
previous meal in the stomach. The mother may have tried to increase the food 
intake by luncheons in the middle of the morning and afternoon; obviously this 
is the wrong thing to do. 

4. Constipation. An intestine packed with fecal material sets up a series 
of waves of construction which pass backwards towards the stomach as well as 
forward. This is often the cause of a feeling of nausea and a lack of appetite. 

5. Food Prejudices. A child has sometimes been allowed to acquire an 
unfortunate attitude toward eating the foods set before him. Food prejudices 
acquired as a part of the unconscious attempt on the part of the child to dominate 
and have his own way, or to cling to infantile habits of eating, account in many 
instances for apparent lack of appetite. 



30 


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The Qhild's TMhind 

Dr. Elizabeth Wood, Ph. D. 

I TS Beginnings. The modern science of child study, owing its greatest debt 
to G. Stanley Hall, is founded upon detailed and prolonged observation of 
infants and children. It is taking away from us many preconceived fancies 
about the original, unspoiled nature and tendencies of the infant and substituting 
plain facts, often distasteful to our romantic souls and disconcerting to our pride 
and self-esteem as parents. 

We may as well begin with a warning: those who believe that babies come 
from heaven into this world perfect and intact—little, untouched scrolls upon 
which their parents (especially their mothers) will know by instinct what to 
write—will find nothing here to sustain their faith. 

On the contrary, we believe that the infant’s body and mind are the in¬ 
evitable result of the traits which his ancestors, immediate and remote, have 
possessed, and his parents (including his mother) may be entirely ignorant of the 
best way to deal with his body, let alone with his rapidly unfolding mind. 

It is the purpose of this chapter to discuss the fundamentals of the child’s 
mental equipment and their bearings upon his training and development. 

First, as to his “original” nature. The baby is a young animal, more help¬ 
less at birth than the young of any other species. But while his infancy and 
helplessness are more prolonged, he possesses a nervous system more highly 
organized and capable of immeasurably greater development than that of any 
other in the animal series. 

The first indication of mind or consciousness which the infant exhibits is 
a tendency to activity. He moves, and he continues to move. Indeed he has 
moved for several months before he left his mother’s body, and consequently he 
arrives with a nervous mechanism sufficiently coordinated so that he can cry out 
at the discomfort of his first sensations in a world colder and harsher than he 
has heretofore known. 








































































Foundation Stones 


31 


From his birth-moment on, allowing for differences in temperament and 
make-up, his activity will bear a direct relation to his health and well-being. A 
markedly quiescent child should be an object of concern. To enforce quiet and 
stillness on a young child is dangerous interference with growth processes. 

In addition to the original tendency to activity, certain other evidences of 
mind, or awareness of the world into which he has come, are apparent in the new¬ 
born child. Watson* has demonstrated that at least three types of emotion, with 
the characteristic movements which reveal them, are present at birth. They 
are fear, rage and love. 

Fear reactions may be elicited (i) by loud noises, or (2) by sudden move¬ 
ments which seem to threaten the infant’s support; as, dropping him, pulling 
suddenly at his covers, etc. Watson observes that the baby’s characteristic re¬ 
action under such circumstances are (1) catching the breath, (2) clutching at 
random with the small fists (“the grasping reflex invariably appearing when the 
child is dropped”), (3) closing the eyes, (4) puckering the lips and (5) crying. 
Fear, in older children, of course, is manifested by their running away or hiding 
from the feared object. It is evident that racial experiences, dating back to those 
of our earliest ancestors, have left traces in the nervous system such that the 
child is born with certain “pattern reactions” ready to respond to certain stimuli. 

Rage, too, is shown by the newest baby, if its movements are hampered. 
Holding a child’s hands, or head or feet will quickly produce crying or screaming, 
with violent jerking of legs, arms or any free muscles. Later, of course, the 
child may control some of these reactions, and display others. For example, 
when he has learned to talk, he may use speech to advantage in expressing his 
emotion! But the activities noted above are those which may be observed in the 
new-born infant, and hence are called “original” reactions. 

Love reactions, or those manifestly associated with pleasure, Watson describes 
as cessation of crying, smiling attempts at gurgling or cooing, and in older 
babies and children, extending the arms. Such reactions may be elicited by 
stroking, tickling, rocking, patting, etc. The pleasurable sensations produced 
by such stimuli soon become associated in the child’s mind with the person who 
produces them, so very soon the child smiles or holds out his hands to the 
mother or nurse or to the father, whose arms are so secure a resting place. 

How Fear May Work. In the same way, fear and rage quickly become 
associated with the persons who caused them, or even, sometimes, with innocent 
persons present when the emotion arose. Violent dislikes and seemingly unex¬ 
plainable fears which children sometimes manifest for certain people or things 
are often due to this mental law or mechanism of “transfer” of the emotion 


•Watson, John. Psychology. Lippincott, 1920 - 




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from the real cause (which the child may not know) to something else which 
was present to his consciousness at the same time. 

An excellent example of this is found in the case of a seven-year-old child 
who was referred by a teacher for a mental examination because of marked in¬ 
ability to do the school work of the first grade. He was fearful of everything, 
of his pets, of storms, of the simplest tasks. A marked feeling of inferiority 
showed itself in his habit of erasing what he wrote as fast as he wrote it. At 
the blackboard he would erase with his left hand as rapidly as he could write 
with the other. He was ashamed of his fears and made a characteristic “transfer” 
of the emotion which he felt over to the object feared. “My rabbit is afraid 
of me when I put my hand out,” he would say. “So I draw it back again and 
don’t touch him.” Thus he rationalized his fear. The mental hygienist who 
analyzed the case traced the fears and habitual apprehensions to a very early 
. experience in a thunder storm, when the mother, very much frightened by a loud 
thunder-clap, clutched the child to her, trembling and exclaiming. Her fear was 
communicated to the child, who always after that showed great distress during 
a thunder shower. The timidity spread to other fields of his experience, until 
his mental life was engulfed by it. 

A clear explanation of thunder and lightning was made to the boy in a 
matter-of-fact way, showing him how lightning is like the electric lights by his 
bed, and how when it thunders it takes a long time for one to hear it after the 
lightning is really all over. A few days later a thunder shower occurred and 
this boy, instead of exhibiting his customary terror, took his teacher to the window 
to show her how long it took to hear the noise. Next, skillful, patient work 
finally overcame his fear of animals, and his restored self-confidence began to 
evidence itself in improved school work. 































































































































Foundation Stones 


33 


A very interesting case of the transferance of an unpleasant emotion under 
stress was reported from the Merrill-Palmer Nursery School by Dr. Helen 
Thompson Woolley at the 1923 meeting of the Illinois Mental Hygienic Society. 
A clever child of five suddenly developed a great fear of the baluster at a turn 
in the stairs which she has been accustomed to descend every day, and was unable 
to come down alone. She showed every sign of genuine fear, becoming pale, 
trembling, and even perspiring. A noteworthy feature of the thing was that the 
child would go up the same stairs with no difficulty, but would weep and tremble 
on coming down. 

A new baby had recently been born to her mother, and after exhausting other 
possibilities of explanation, the psychologist determined to see whether there 
was any connection between this event and the child’s sudden access of fear. 
She was led to investigate this possibility by noting that the child, on two occa¬ 
sions, said in a thoughtful, rather troubled way, “My mamma didn’t have that baby 
when she went to the hospital, and now she has it.” 

A talk with the father brought out significant facts. The child had been 
taken several times to the hospital to visit the mother and the new baby. The 
father had noticed that she asked no questions about the baby, but had attached 
no significance to this, other than to believe she had no curiosity concerning its 
origin or arrival. It developed, further, that though they had always gone up 
to the mother’s room in an elevator, they had walked down a stairway closely 
resembling the one which had seemed to arouse the child’s fear at the school. It 
seemed plain that suppressed curiosity and emotional stress had been present in 
the child’s mind during these hospital visits to such an extent that a violent anxiety 
—neurosis—had associated itself with the appearance (or the descending) of the 
stairs. The fact that a calm, clear explanation of the baby’s coming dissolved 
the difficulty seems to prove the case for this explanation of the difficulty. 

There is some cause for every fear which children show. To shame or 
punish a child for exhibiting fear is to risk either fixing it for all time, or setting 
up some equally undesirable mental habit. 

It is necessary to recognize that these three emotions, fear, rage and love, 
are present and ready to function in every infant, and that the parents’ chief 
problem is to help the child to establish mental habits which will attach his fears, 
his angers and his loves to the proper objects. 

It is possible, for example, to teach a child not to try to fondle a strange 
dog, without making him fear all dogs, let alone all animals. Fear must be 
utilized to some extent, in order to train a child to look out for his own safety. 
But to make use of it to frighten a child into obedience, as nurse maids sometimes 
utilize a fear of the dark ( a fear which must be first manufactured, as it is ap- 




34 


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parently not native to the baby), is a little short of criminal. Most fears are 
probably the result of imitation or of direct teaching. Neurotic or over-tired 
mothers and fathers often communicate their own fears and anxieties to their 
children. In this way children are sometimes rendered afraid of the doctor, 
of the dentist, or of the hospital so that they neglect to have much-needed care 
until much damage is done. 

Food Idiosyncrasies. Most food idiosyncrasies in children prove to be re¬ 
flections of the attitude of some adult member of the home circle. A fond parent, 
watching proudly for any indication of his own personality traits in his child, 
suggests that the child cannot endure salads, and henceforth salads are anathema 
to that child. Cases are known of parents actually fostering a dislike of milk 
in a child through a desire (often unacknowledged and even unknown to them¬ 
selves) to frustrate and rout a school nurse or a teacher whose interest in their 
child they have considered officious and a reflection on their intelligence and 
parental responsibility. 

Habits. Nine-tenths of our life is habit. Dr. William Burnham*, that 
splendid pioneer in mental hygiene for normal children, tells the story of a man 
who, wishing to recommend a friend for a position, wrote of him, “He is a 
young man of absolutely no habits.” Imagine such a person! He would be 
helpless. He could not walk, let alone talk. He would be more helpless than 
a new-born baby, for certain of the infant’s reactions to stimuli may be called 
habit. 

Every act of our lives is contributing to the formation of some habitual 
mode of response, or habit. One can readily see, then, how important it is for 
children to be wisely helped to form wholesome, useful habits, and to avoid 
those which make for trouble. 

Babies may be taught to demand a light in their sleeping rooms, or to re¬ 
quire constant rocking and patting, or any one of scores of unnecessary or 
even unwholesome attentions, with only a few days or hours of careless or 
ignorant handling. They may be taught to lie wet and uncomfortable without 
complaining or to howl lustily until someone makes them properly clean and dry. 

Children may be taught to expect so much attention and direction that they 
remain in an infantile state of dependence all through their childhood and even 
into adult life. Many maladjustments in older children and adults are due to 
over-coddling by mother or father—a coddling which the individual learns to 
demand of all who deal with him. Children badly handled in this way think the 
teacher is “down on them” in school and refuse to exert themselves. Later they 

•See his Success and Failure as Conditions of Mental HeaJth and other articles published in Mental 
Hygiene by the National Association of Mental Hygiene, 370 Seventh Avenue, New York City. 




Foundation Stones 


35 


may be in the divorce courts because the mate they chose fails to render them the 
sort of personal service and attention which their unwise upbringing trained 
them to require. 

Children love and need a considerable amount of routine. A program with 
certain things due and demanded at given times is wholesome for both children 
and adults. Nothing is more demoralizing to both physical and mental health 
than an uncharted day, with no captain whose authority is respected. 

Good Habits. Proper habits of early retiring, proper eating, and wholesome 
activity are vital to the child’s health. It is a curious but astounding truth that 
today one finds many parents who apparently cannot control these things, even 
in young children. One cannot begin too early with the training which is neces¬ 
sary to make habitual these simple living habits, so vital to wholesome growth 
and development. A divided authority in the household is one main cause of 
difficulty in proper habit formation. It is fatal to all authority to teach a child 
that he can ever appeal to one parent against the other, and get a decision reversed. 

If parents would think carefully before a demand is made, be certain that 
the thing they ask is reasonable and right, and then permit neither wheedling nor 
storming to change their decision, a tremendous amount of time and nerve-con¬ 
suming stress would be eliminated. 

Bad Habits. Bad habits are as easily acquired as good ones, and any habit 
once fixed is difficult to break. We mention two which are troublesome, and 
which have a common basis, in that each is the result of the child’s desire for 
pleasurable sensory stimulation, or sensation. They are thumb-sucking and mas¬ 
turbation. Neither of these habits is wholesome, though neither should be 
viewed with the shocked horror which usually characterizes all discussion or 
dealing with them—especially in the case of the latter. 

Thumb-sucking starts accidentally, and is sometimes encouraged by unwise 
mothers or nurses who find “it keeps the baby quiet.” It sometimes deforms 
mouths and even thumbs, and it is not wholesome on the physical side. On the 
mental side, however, it is far more serious, as there is always danger of its 
persisting beyond babyhood, in which case it leads to the substituting of inactivity 
and day-dreaming for wholesome activity of mind and body. 

Masturbation often begins accidentally, also, and sometimes takes the form 
of rubbing the parts against some object, as a table, or of movements of the hips. 
The more usual form is manipulation with the hands. The fact that a child has 
discovered that a pleasurable sensation may be aroused in this way should be 
regarded by a parent or a teacher as an unfortunate accident, and not as a sign of 
native wickedness and degeneracy in the child. Sometimes it is taught to the 
child by an older playmate, or even, in rare cases, by a perverted adult. While its 



36 


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urn 



IB )y 

... i 

!W<J 

lllM 

||^ 

I 

HJ | 

yt 1 

HID 

ll 



excessive practice may lead to bad physical results, this is really rare. The 
mental results are usually the only thing one has to fear, and they may be deleter¬ 
ious, especially if the case is badly handled by frightened and excited adults who 
have been wrongly taught that masturbation leads quickly to physical and mental 
deterioration or insanity or some other catastrophe. The sense of guilt and 
humiliation which violent scolding or punishment may implant, as also the ter¬ 
rible fears of dire consequences which may result, may effect real mental damage. 
It is wise to see that physical irritations, like tight or badly fitting clothing, are 
removed. Absolute cleanliness is vital, and occasionally, especially in boys, sur¬ 
gical care is needed. 

The main thing, however, is to direct the child’s attention into other chan¬ 
nels. Keep him so busy with interesting activities that he has no time to spare. 
See that he is not too warmly covered and that he does not lie awake in bed, 
either alone or with another child. Above all, do not let him feel that he is a 
criminal, always suspected, and always under observation. Few children, espe¬ 
cially boys, entirely escape this experience; its effects are lasting and tragic in 
relatively few cases. 

Bed Wetting. Here again we have a habit which is easily formed and is 
difficult to break. The cause is more often mental than physical, though a phy¬ 
sician’s diagnosis should be the first step in solving this problem. Intelligent 
children who have no physical defect which is casual can learn to control this 
reflex. Punishment is usually of no avail, except that making the child take the 
natural consequence of the delinquency by regularly and inevitably washing 
his own soiled clothing or sheets is sometimes effective. Corporal punishment 
may actually increase the difficulty. Rewards are better,, and especially rewards 
sufficiently attractive to arouse a real and lasting desire in the child himself to 

























































































































































































































Foundation Stones 


37 


cure the bad habit. Suggestion often works a cure. Each case, of course, 
requires special study and treatment. But humiliation and terrorizing of the 
child must be avoided, in this as in all cases where bad habits have been formed. 
For it is easy to instill feelings of inferiority and a sense of guilt and contamina¬ 
tion which will be far more deleterious than the habit itself. Indeed, fixing 
the child’s attention on a bad habit is often a fatal error. 

Constructive Aids to Mental Health. As a final word, we propose that 
parents (including fathers!) check up their behavior to their children for several 
successive days by means of the appended score card. 

A SCORE CARD FOR PARENTS 

Maximum Actual 
No. Pts. No. Pts. 

I. ENCOURAGING ACTIVITY .25 

Deduct for: 

(a) Failing to provide work and play 

(b) Unnecessary interference with work and play 

(c) Allowing imagination to stagnate 

Score after deductions .... 

I. SECURING ORDERLY ASSOCIATIONS .25 

Deduct for: 

(a) Failing to relate work to child’s experience 

(b) Failing to provide a goal 

(c) Failing to secure a finished job 

Score after deductions .... 

I. DEVELOPING HEALTHY EMOTIONS .50 

Deduct for: 

(a) Nagging 

(b) Scolding and threatening 

(c) Suspecting and accusing 

(d) Suggesting fears and food idiosyncrasies 

(e) Coddling 

(f) Tyrannizing 

(g) Ridiculing 

(h) Patronizing 

(i) Flattering 

(j) Deceiving 

Score after deductions .... 

TOTAL SCORE (after deductions) .... 







38 


The Foundation Library 



The ‘Parent and His Qommunity 


Minnetta S. Leonard 


HE science of educating children is constantly changing. Child study, school 



activities and all things pertaining to these are being subjected to most 


rigorous testing and trying out by experts. Doctors of the normal indi¬ 
vidual, specialists for the abnormal, those who are trying to restore our shell¬ 
shocked soldiers, and scientists in the various laboratories are all working in their 
particular fields to conduct experiments and try out theories in regard to every 
phase of the developing child. They are handing all these valuable discoveries 
over to the school men, who in turn are being trained scientifically to test these 
in the schoolroom. This means that whatever is advanced with all sincerity to-day 
we may modify or discard to-morrow, when we have greater light. 

It is, therefore, with deepest humility that this book is submitted for your 
use. There has been no attempt to dictate any one practice; this is not a method 
of education. The contributors and editors have tried to present the fundamental 
principles which science at present seems to have established conclusively, and 
to indicate adjustable ways of building upon these. We have done this for two 
reasons: First, because, as has been said, our theories of education are grow¬ 
ing, and we must allow for changes; and second, because if we set forth a method 
with directions for its use we should center attention upon that rather than 
upon the child and his development. 

The foundation idea of this entire book is that the child himself must be 
his own educator, and the parent’s place is to provide opportunities, to stand 
by to watch and study the child as he works out his purposes, and then to step 
in with help only when assistance is needed. With a full understanding of the 












































Foundation Stones 


39 


child’s own nature and needs, the principles and laws of his growth rather than 
the methods of handwork, music or study to be developed, the parent is free 
to adapt himself to each situation as it arises, with an intelligence to get the most 
from that situation. 

The illustrations given need not be duplicated in all respects in another home. 
They are given here to show the way one mother or father worked as a guide 
to another. But as each child differs from every other child, as each parent 
and each home are distinctly individual, so each educational opportunity that 
comes to you will be unlike these described, and the results obtained will vary. 
This book tries to give insight into the home opportunities, to suggest ways of 
providing the proper soil and atmosphere, and to provide right guidance, and 
in other ways to give the parent a grasp of the fundamental principles under¬ 
lying human development as a guide for him in educating himself for parenthood. 

But there is even a greater purpose in this book. The crying need of the 
hour is for an enlightened voting parenthood. However hard scientists may 
work, whatever sacrifices teachers may make, whatever ideals earnest public men 
may strive for, they are “up against a brick wall” which prevents widespread 
progress because the taxpayers and general public are either blissfully ignorant 
of anything wrong with the present schools or too indifferent to exert themselves 
to do anything about it. We must have an educated public. 

Americans are noted for getting what they make up their minds to have. 
We cannot make too great a sacrifice to secure the specialist to cure our babies 
when they are sick and in danger; in such a crisis the best is none too good. 
But we are indifferent to the need of paying for the prevention of ills, particularly 
of moral ills. However much we may say to the contrary evidence shows that 
Americans as a whole are not yet desiring fine schools. 

In this book there has been an endeavor to show that the true development 
of a child comes only in social contact while it is developing. Perhaps you are 
able to give this to your child because you have good public schools near your 
home, or are so fortunate as to have a good private school and can afford to 
pay the tuition (and may I say that unless the private school is developing the 
basic principles here advocated the child is likely to be harmed more in the 
private school than in the public). Or, you are so well placed financially as to 
have a large, well-equipped playroom to accommodate the neighborhood, with 
servants enough to leave you free to be the teacher and direct the work. If so, 
you are fortunate indeed. But, parents, your duty does not end here. There 
are those of us who have all the training necessary to carry out these theories, 
a few who have money for equipment, but we haven’t the right schools for our 
children now, and our hands are tied; we are helpless, so far as our children’s 
immediate needs are concerned. For the sake of less fortunate mothers through- 





40 


The Foundation Library 


out the country, let us beg of you to pass on whatever of help you may get from 
these pages to your community. Throw yourself into the Parent-Teacher work 
of your district and foster in every possible way classes which are organized 
for the definite, earnest study of the educational problems. 

And this is not only a public duty—it is your duty to your own child. If 
a school is not good enough for your child, it isn’t good enough for any child 
in your community. A chain is just as strong as its weakest link. All the love, 
care and thought you may give your child is not going to protect him from 
the harm he will suffer from the selfish, immoral or criminal tendencies which 
you are allowing to develop in your public schools because of public indifference. 
Perhaps the greatest terror we mothers faced in the great war as we held our 
babies, our girls and boys, was our sense of utter helplessness to protect them 
should war come again, and nearer home. The time for parents to fight is right 
now. The war makers and peace makers of the future, the men and women who 
are to control the destinies of our matured babies, are at this moment in the 
making. What are you going to do to make the future world of your child and 
your grandchildren a better one than ours ? 

You have watched a baby building a block tower? The second block usually 
stays put, however crooked. Sometimes the third stays. But the pile is so 
far out of plumb that the fourth or fifth refuses to stay, and the whole topples 
over. Gradually by repeated trial the baby learns to place each block squarely 
and accurately upon these below until by proper balance he builds a high tower. 
His first attempt stands for the first three or four blocks and then falls. The 
block which makes the tower fall isn’t the last block that is placed in position. 
Our present concern in the school system is much like the baby’s in the last 
block. The errors in our present system become evident in the upper grades 
or the junior high school, and parents and school boards are demanding a 
reconstruction of these study years. They are so busy over this problem that 
it has not occurred to them that the foundation is at fault. Wise economy for 
the future means that while we do all in our power to save the boy and girl towers 
already toppling, we at the same time lay securely the first stones in the growing 
towers. 

Your business, dear parent, is in laying the foundation stones and in seeing 
to it that each succeeding stone is placed true and firm, not only for your own 
child but for all children. 

The United States government furnishes all sorts of bulletins giving help 
to mothers and teachers for such study. The editor of this book will be only 
too glad to furnish any suggestions for books to read, help in organizing mothers’ 
study clubs, and so on, if you care to write to her. 







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Infancy 


41 



Feeding Schedule for Infants 

Six to Ten Months of Age 


Six Months 


6:00 A. 

M. 

Nurse. 

10:00 A. 

M. 

Cereal (farina) ; nurse. 

2:00 P. 

M. 

Nurse. 

6:00 P. 

M. 

Cereal (farina) ; nurse. 

10:00 P. 

M. 

Nurse. 


Cook the farina two hours or longer in a double boiler; serve thick, with a 
sprinkle of sugar; no milk. Start in with one teaspoonful, and increase by one 
teaspoonful a day until the baby is taking from four to five tablespoonsful at the 
end of the sixth month. 

Seven Months 


6:oo A. M. 
10:00 A. M. 
2:00 P. M. 
6:00 P. M. 
10:00 P. M. 


Nurse. 

Cereal (farina) ; nurse. 

Vegetable (spinach or carrots) ; nurse. 
Cereal (farina) ; nurse. 

Nurse. 


Directions for Preparing Vegetables. 

Place a handful of spinach in salt water or soup stock (beef, mutton or 
chicken). Cook for twenty-five minutes, or until soft and tender. Add one tea¬ 
spoonful of butter. Mix well and put through sieve. Do not throw away the 
water in which the vegetable is cooked, but feed it to the baby with the vegetable. 
(All vegetables should be prepared similarly.) 









































42 


The Foundation Library 


6 :oo 

A. 

M. 

M 

o 

o 

o 

A. 

M. 

2 :oo 

P. 

M. 

6 :oo 

P. 

M. 

io:oo 

P. 

M. 

6 :oo 

A. 

M. 

io:oo 

A. 

M. 

2 :oo 

P. 

M. 

6 :oo 

P. 

M. 

10 :oo 

P. 

M. 

6 :oo 

A. 

M. 

w 

O 

o 

o 

A. 

M. 

2 :oo 

P. 

M. 

6 :oo 

P. 

M. 


Eight Months 

Nurse. 

Cereal (farina) ; nurse. 

Vegetable (spinach or carrots), baked potato, toast and broth 
(beef, mutton or chicken—all fat skimmed off). 

Cereal (farina) ; nurse. 

Nurse. 

Nine Months 

Three ounces whole milk (boiled three minutes) ; nurse. 

Cereal (farina), toast, broth (beef, mutton or chicken, taking off 
all fat). 

Vegetable (spinach or carrots), baked potato, cooked fruit (apple 
sauce or baked apple). 

Cereal (farina), toast, broth (beef, mutton or chicken). 

Three ounces whole milk; nurse. 

Nine and One-half Months 
Eight ounces milk. 

Cereal (farina), toast, broth (beef, mutton or chicken). 

Vegetable (spinach or carrots), potato, baked apple. 

Cereal (farina), toast, eight ounces of milk. 

(Note: After ten months the vegetable, fruit and cereal diet may 
be varied by using any of the following in place of those above 
prescribed.) 

Vegetables 

Spinach . 

Carrots 
Peas 

String Beans 
Baked Potatoes 

Fruits 

Apples 
Prunes 
Apricots 
Ripe Bananas 

Cereals 

Farina 
Sago 

Oatmeal or any other cooked cereals. 

These must be cooked at least one hour. Children cannot digest 
half-cooked starches. 


Asparagus 
Swiss Chard 
Cauliflower 
Celery 


Pears 

Peaches 

Plums 


Rice 





Infancy 


43 



‘Development of the First Six oJfrConths 

Minnetta S. Leonard 

Physical Habits. Too great emphasis cannot be placed upon physical habits, 
which, few in number, are named below. Physical well-being also depends upon 
other considerations, such as moral tendencies, etc., referred to in this chapter. 

Moral Well-Being. Moral development begins at birth. The foundation of 
parents’ control in after years is laid right here in the establishment of control 
over habits of— 

1 . Sleep, at regular times and the proper amount. 

2 . Eating, the exact twenty minutes, no more. This means sticking to busi¬ 
ness and getting the needed amount within the time. 

3 . Teaching the baby to wait without crying until the exact minute for the 
next meal. 

4 . Toilet at a regular hour each day. 

5 . Occupation. .The baby should lie happily and quietly, occupying himself 
during waking hours. His business now is to learn his own body, how to manage 
it, and to develop his senses through seeing, hearing, and touching things near 
him. His problem is altogether individual, and he should not be interrupted in 
its solution by frequent attentions from the mother, nurse or other people. 

6 . Thumb-Sucking. This is a dangerous occupation and should be stopped 
at the outset. It starts at the age of about three months, and is easily broken by 
putting the child in a sleeping bag; by putting soft linen bags or mittens on hands, 
and other ways a mother may devise for herself. If allowed to become a habit, 
it will be hard to break. It carries throat and nose troubles, is unsanitary, en¬ 
dangers the child’s health, and in some cases deforms the roof of the mouth. 

Emotional Habits. These are important matters, and may thus briefly be 
summarized: 

1 . Happy contentment while awake. 

2 . He should not cry, be held, rocked, taken up, or played with. If these 
habits are started, much trouble to discontinue them may follow. Care should 
be taken to see that no wrinkles or pins, or buttons in his clothing make him 











The Foundation Library 


44 


uncomfortable. His position should be changed often, to rest him. If free 
from pain, with attractive objects nearby to hold his attention, he can amuse 
himself. If he cries to be picked up, let him cry. Never reward crying by 
giving at the time the thing cried for. If he should have it, wait until his mind 
has been distracted from his want and the crying stopped. 

Mental Habits. Developing senses is the chief business of these months, the 
senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste. Out of these develop association of ideas 
to form concepts of persons and objects, or memories, recall of past sensations, 
and imagination. These must develop before reason can come. To develop the 
senses there must be also the parent’s care as well, to assist muscular coordina¬ 
tions through bodily exercise. The manner of procedure is suggested under the 
section devoted to playthings. 

Clothing. Clothing should be warm, but not too warm; always loose, and 
free from rough seams, many buttons, and fancy trimming. Diaper should be 
fastened in drawer-fashion on each side of leg and hips rather than the middle. 
This prevents uncomfortable pull and a big bunch between the legs, allowing 
the legs to come down straight rather than bowed. It takes four pins to fasten 
it thus—one on each side, to the shirt, and one to fasten the opening on each side, 
to the stocking. 

Clothing should be changed night and morning, to rest the skin. 

Proper Environment. The room should be free from loud and sudden 
noises. People who handle the baby should be quiet, and not “jerky” in their 
movements; they should have soft, quiet voices. Soft singing, quiet music on 
the phonograph with fibre needle, and quiet instrumental music are appropriate. 
Plenty of sunshine and fresh air are requisites. There should be few people 
coming and going. Let there be no picking up and tossing, trotting, etc.; the 
baby should not be handled and moved about, but his crib or carriage may be 
moved about from room to room, giving him an opportunity to get new sensa¬ 
tions and new things to look at. 

Playthings. The baby should have playthings, preferably those to train the 
eyes, such as bright balls with string attached, or other objects hung nearby to 
look at. Balls or objects which baby’s eyes are fixed upon may be slowly moved 
up and down, swung back and forth, round and round, to encourage eye 
movement. 

To encourage reaching and kicking, these same things may be put within 
reach and moved slowly away; or they may be hung near his feet or hands to 
invite effort. A ball or bright bit fastened to his carriage encourages kicking 
and reaching. A rod across the basket for him to pull on strengthens arms and 
back muscles. 




Infancy 


45 


Also give him soft toys, rattles, spoons, etc., for him to grasp, turn about, 
drop, and pick up. 

Caution. Avoid all cheap rattles which have pebbles or other dangerous 
things inside which might come out if he smashes them; also toys with coloring 
which comes off on hands or mouth; toys with sharp edges or corners which 
may injure him; toys which are small enough to go into the mouth; rubber toys 
which have whistles so poorly put in as to come loose easily. 

DEVELOPMENT FROM SIX MONTHS TO ONE YEAR 

Physical Development. The baby’s sleep should be 
lessened gradually to sixteen hours, with two naps daily. 
Feeding may be changed to four feedings a day, four 
hours apart, by the time he is one year old. He should 
be weaned during this period. 

He should gain certain controls—learn to sit up, to 
creep, to stand by a chair during these months. In some 
cases the baby will walk, but if he does not, it is not wise 
to urge it. When his muscular development warrants it, 
he will of his own accord try to walk. Urging too soon 
is likely to produce bowed legs. 

Moral Development. There must be continuation of parental control in mat¬ 
ters listed above. 

During these months occasion may arise to teach the meaning of “No, no!” 
Parent must be firm in demanding obedience, and ever after insist upon it in the 
same situations. A neglect on the mother’s part to enforce her command one 
time may cause the baby to try her out several times. This is the beginning of 
the establishment of habits of obedience to “Don’t touch,” “Must not,” and the 
various other commands which will arise in the next year and a half. 

There will be changes in diet which will possibly bring need for control— 
from the breast to the bottle, and the addition of soups, etc. This is the crucial 
time for the mother’s control. She must not give an inch, find as pleasant a way 
to establish control as possible, but keep the control. 

Mental Development. Memory, associations, some dawnings of reasoning and 
imagination will begin to show. The baby will give evidence that he begins to 
understand what is said to him. He will make sounds which later will develop 
into talk. He begins to imitate. 

Emotional Development. There should be a continuation of the early habits. 
The child must be protected from sudden noises, from surprises or other shocks, 
because fear is likely to develop during these months. He must be protected 







46 


The Foundation Library 


from overstimulation and excitement, which cause nervousness and strain. Try 
to prevent tossing, tickling, and loud voices from strangers, who may cause 
frights. 

Environment. He may now see more people, for he needs companionship of 
others. He should become accustomed to being left with others besides his par¬ 
ents. Quiet, pleasant surroundings, and little handling should continue. 

Helps for His Developing Needs. He now needs playthings of a greater 
variety—things which he can push, creep after, roll, pound. These encourage 
creeping, standing, walking. He needs large corked bottles to help in forming 
hand and eye coordinations; boxes with tops which he can put on and remove with 
ease. He must be supplied with objects such as spoons, pans, spools, tea strainers, 
ivory rings, keys on keyrings, soft and hard balls, both wooly and smooth, which 
develop his senses by their contrasts. 

Companions. He needs people with whom he can talk and sing little songs and 
play finger games. He is trying to talk, to associate names with objects and to 
get acquainted with the parts of his body. All the little rhymes, like “This little 
pig went to market,” “Chin-chopper,” etc., call attention to his toes, fingers, eyes, 
nose and mouth; these help through companionship to develop the power to talk 
and through imitating actions, better bodily control. The habit of feeling happy is 
also established in this way. He is ready to look at pictures and to be shown 
animals and objects as he is taken about, hearing the name coupled with each. 

DEVELOPMENT FROM ONE TO TWO YEARS 

Physical Well-Being. The following regulations should 
be scrupulously observed during this important period: 

Sleep may be reduced to fifteen hours, including two 
day-time naps. Food should now be more varied (see 
article on this subject in this volume). The child must 
have regular habits of evacuation. It will help to have 
toys on his chair-tray while he is at the toilet, to keep him 
there until his work is done. Be sure that he gets plenty 
of water and orange juice. 

For exercise let him have boxes for steps and give him any safe things which 
encourage climbing, pulling, walking, carrying of objects without dropping. 
Select objects for lifting and pounding. 

Moral Development. There must be no letting-down in the enforcement of 
the health rules already given. 

The ability to creep and walk brings the baby in touch with all sorts of 
things, many of which are not good for him. He must learn now that certain 






Infancy 


47 


things must not be touched, that some hurt him, some that he will hurt, that 
others, like cake and sugar, which may be near him, he must not have. To 
establish control step by step now will save much trouble and suffering for 
mother and child later. At this time may be given commands, such as “Bring,” 
“Take,” “Give,” “Stand up,” “Hold still.” 

Mental Stimulus. He needs many harmless objects to pound, throw, carry, 
pull, push, squeeze, to help learn their properties. He should have hard balls and 
soft balls; heavy blocks and light ones; things which are smooth and things 
which are rough; things to pour with, like a pan and a cup, and water; sand, 
spoons and cooking dishes, (graduated filled vegetable cans are excellent to 
roll and pile up) ; block nests to pile up, at first helter skelter, and gradually in 
graduated piles or rows. He needs a kiddie car, a small wagon, a large string 
train of cars, an animal to pull on a string, and a chair swing hung in the door¬ 
way. His need is to get acquainted with the things in the world about him and 
to get control of his body through use of these. If you give him plenty of 
harmless things, you prevent injury to other objects. 

Emotional Phase. There should be happy, sunny employment. Baby should 
not be allowed to fret or cry. There should be an absence of fear, and we must 
prevent, as far as possible, the occasion for anger; when it arises, divert atten¬ 
tion as quickly as possible, to prevent the beginning of a habit. Keeping the 
little one busy is the great secret of his happiness. Examples of control, lack of 
nerves, quiet patience, and calm voice are indispensable aids in forming these 
habits. Soft laughter and singing have their effect. 

Sense-training calls for piano playing and soft singing, bright colored ob¬ 
jects and pictures, and attention to taste of foods. 

The Baby Yard. It is wise, in order to prevent injury to the baby and to 
things about the house, to have a baby yard. The baby must have all the things 
in it to keep him busy and happy while his mother is engaged in her work. 

Companions. Occasionally give him the society of other children. It will 
inaugurate the time when he must begin to learn the difference between yours 
and mine. Such companionship will teach him to give up objects he wants which 
belong to others. He should begin to talk; people who talk to him must not 
impede his progress by using “baby talk.” Show him more pictures, and asso¬ 
ciate the names with the pictures. Sing to him. Walk slowly with him away 
from home environment, and talk a good deal in simple language about the 
things seen. Begin to tell him little stories of every-day happenings in which 
he is the hero. 

Attainments at the Second Birthday. At the end of this year the child 
should have the development given at the beginning of the next section. 



48 


The Foundation Library 



T)iary of a Baby from Birth to the zjfge of Two Years 


Louise M. Fessenden 


HE record from which this section has been arranged was taken day by day 



as things occurred. A desk calendar with a fair-sized writing space under 


the date and a blank reverse side to each sheet is a convenient form to jot 
things down on in a hurry. The desire to keep such a record adds not only* 
greater insight into the baby’s nature, but is a real joy. Instead of having only 
the most notable acts to repeat to friends, parents get great enjoyment out of 
seeing inconspicious, slow, but real development in their baby. 

Much in the following pages for older children is taken from a similar record 
and from what could be obtained from like records of other mothers, as well. 
It isn’t guesswork or theory, but outgrowth of the lives of real children. 

For convenient reference, the notes have been classified under the following 
headings: Physical Development, Motor Control, Sense Impressions, Imitation, 
Association, Memory, Imagination, Play and Development of Language. 

Most of the record is taken from the history of the child John. As an inter¬ 
esting basis of comparison, some notes in regard to his sister Elizabeth, fifteen 
months younger, have been added. 


PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT 


First month. Sixth day. John raised his head from the bed, when lying on 
his stomach. He has a strong backbone. 

Fourteenth day. Tears were noticed. 

Twenty-second day. When lying on his stomach, he turned his head com¬ 
pletely over, changing from one cheek to the other. 

Twenty-seventh day. In the same position, he raised himself on his arms, 
lifting himself several inches from the bed. He did this repeatedly. 
Twenty-eighth day. He seemed to be more conscious of his hands. He 
fingered parts of his carriage. 

When lying across his mother’s knees he lifted his head. 

Second month. Fifteenth day. Perspiration was noticed. 





























Infancy 


49 


Twenty-sixth day. He edged himself forward on a bed, covering about a 
foot of space. A watch was placed on the bed in front of him, and his 
progress was in its direction. 

He watched his hands, noticeably. 

He turned entirely over by himself. 

Third month. Twenty-eighth day. He edged forward more than a foot on the 
bed, straight over the edge, and headlong to the floor. 

Fifth month. Second day. He can take a creeping position, and raise himself 
on his toes till his body is a bow, curving from his hands to his feet. 
He lunges forward, and by this means is able to cover a considerable 
distance, on a full-sized bed or in the “kiddie-coop.” 

When he is in his buggy, he throws himself around so that he is likely 
at any moment to overbalance it. 

He sits alone a little, but is rather unsteady. He holds his head up quite 
well, but his back is uncertain in a sitting position. 

Sixth month. Twenty-second day. Elizabeth turned over. 

Eighth month. Eleventh day. John had a great romp with Mary Ellen on her 
bed. He tried to crawl over the edge as usual, and cried when prevented 
by a bolster. He crawled from one end of the bed to the other, again 
and again, after a red-covered book or a bright nickled thermos bottle. 
This is the quickest locomotion that has been observed up to the present. 

Twentieth day. Elizabeth cut her first tooth. She cannot sit up very straight. 

Twenty-fourth day. John sits up in his crib. He creeps vigorously over the 
big bed in a series of powerful lunges. He comes vehemently towards 
Mary Ellen or mother when we sit on the edge. We make a barricade 
of pillows and blankets, and his delight is to burrow his head into the 
pile, and to try to climb over. 

Twenty-sixth day. Mary Ellen put a big rocker near the bed where John 
was playing. He scrambled over the edge and into the chair-seat, and 
lay there for several minutes, rocking himself by pushing the bed with 
his foot, with evident pleasure. 

Ninth month. Sixth day. John looked over the edge of his crib to-day. There 
were pillows in it, and he climbed up on them and was delighted to be 
able to see the whole room. He repeated the climbing many times. 

Eighth day. John sat in Mary Ellen’s high chair, tied in by a towel. 

Ninth day. John’s first tooth came through. 

Tenth day. He sat up in his buggy out-of-doors. 

He played on the living-room floor. 

Twelfth day. Elizabeth sits alone fairly well now. She wriggles around 



50 


The Foundation Library 


on the floor, sometimes getting entirely off of her 
blanket. 

John crept all over the floor, both up-stairs and 
down-stairs. He crept up and down the up-stairs 
hall, in a game with Mary Ellen. She would go 
to one end and leave him at the other, and he 
would rapidly creep to her. 

He drew himself to a nearly upright position, cling¬ 
ing to the rungs of Mary Ellen’s high chair, 
kicked his covers off again and again, and laughed 

Twenty-third day. John sat for an hour in the rocking-horse chair (“Dock 
and Bang”) and tried to rock it. 

Twenty-fifth day. He stood upright in his crib, holding to the side. He 
crowed aloud in glee to attract attention. 

Tenth month. First day. John stands up whenever he can find something to 
support him. Tables are the favorites, either the one in the living-room 
or the one in his room. 

He crawled to the bottom of the stairs, and put his hands on the lowest 
step. 

Fifth day. John took his first step. A description of this important event 
is given under the heading “Motor Control”. 

Sixteenth day. He moves freely about the floor, and climbs up to a standing 
position beside everything. He is not following up his walking accom¬ 
plishment, but seems to prefer dropping on all-fours when there is an 
open space to be traversed. 

The children say that he climbed to the fourth stair step. The authen¬ 
ticity of this feat is in dispute. At any rate, he fell to the floor with a 
loud bump. 

Thirtieth day. John climbed nine stair steps. 

Eleventh month. Fifth day. John climbed to the top of stairs. He creeps 
everywhere with amazing rapidity. He walks along by the rim of the 
bathtub or beside anything that resembles a railing, passing his hand 
over the support with a light touch. He will come to his mother across 
a short vacancy, perhaps as wide as a foot. The movement is not exactly 
walking, but is more like a lunge. 

Twenty-eighth day. John tipped the black buggy over backwards. 

Twelfth month. Sixteenth day. He made great progress in walking to-day. For 
the past three or four days he has been standing alone for an instant 



Nineteenth day. John 

















Infancy 


51 


or two, and has taken one or two staggering steps from one person to 
another. To-day he walked with mincing steps from his mother to 
Nancy, over a space of about four feet, many times and with increasing 
confidence. 

He threw himself headlong off of his mother’s lap during his bath. 

Twenty-eighth day. He took a walk of about seven feet, from the front 
door to the foot of the stairs. He walks all around the rooms, and does 
not drop to a creeping position except over quite large intervals between 
pieces of furniture. Sometimes he attempts these and tumbles. 

Thirteenth month. First day. Height, twenty-eight and five-eighth inches. 

Eighth day. John’s mother has been putting him on the grass and letting 
him have the run of the place. He is in the seventh heaven. He delights 
to crawl up and down the terrace and to play with outdoor things, such 
as the garden hose-carriage, or Mary Ellen’s old express wagon over¬ 
turned. 

Fourteenth day. Elizabeth sits in her high chair and “makes music” on the 
piano. 

Sixteenth day. John drank milk from a cup, holding it in his two hands. 

Eighteenth day. He walks everywhere now, with a tottering step. He does 
not lose his balance very often, but occasionally he will suddenly take 
a seat on the floor. He walked from the front door all the way to the 
kitchen, taking a circuitous route of at least twenty-five feet, with but 
two very slight stops for rest against walls or furniture. 

Twentieth day. The first climbing attempts which have been observed were 
noticed. He raised his foot as if to put it over the coop-rail. This 
movement was repeated several times. 

Fourteenth month. Fourteenth day. He is badly pigeon-toed. He walks so fast 
that he usually trips himself. 

Sixteenth month. Nineteenth day. John can push Mary Ellen in her big coaster- 
wagon all around the house on the sidewalk outside. He is very strong, 
and built on a large scale in every respect—large head, broad shoulders, 
fat round legs, solid body. 

Seventeenth month. Third day. Elizabeth pulled herself to a standing position. 

Twenty-first month. Thirteenth day. John escapes at every opportunity and 
runs off down the street. To-day he was discovered down by the ball¬ 
park (about six hundred feet from home), trotting along in the middle 
of the road, and dragging Mary Ellen’s wagon behind him. 

Fifteenth day. John walked downtown and back, with his mother, a dis¬ 
tance of about half a mile each way. This is the first time he has made 
the trip without a lift. 




52 


The Foundation Library 


MOTOR CONTROL 

Under this heading are grouped acts of the child John 
which seemed to have conscious purpose behind them. 
Originally some of these observations were further sub¬ 
divided under the headings of “Instincts” and “Emotions.” 
However, it was found that these manifestations fell more 
naturally into other groups, such as “Sense Impressions,” 
“Imitation,” and others, including the present one, and ac¬ 
cordingly this arrangement has been adopted. 

First month. Fifth day. John succeeded in getting his thumb in his mouth. 

Eighth day. He managed to get his whole fist in his mouth. 

Twenty-sixth day. Nancy waved her hand in a circle above his head. His 
eyes followed her hand. 

Second month. Fifth day. He held the edge of his bathtub with a firm grasp. 

Third month. Tenth day. He “took to his bottle” nicely. 

Seventeenth day. He held his hands up in front of his face, watching them 
with absorption. He moved his fingers, observing them with interest 
and curiosity. 

Twenty-sixth day. He took his bottle in his hands, and carried it to his 
mouth. 

Thirtieth day. He held the knitted doll by its foot. He follows the rubber 
doll with his eyes when someone squeaks it. 

Fourth month. Fifth day. He held the ribbons of his kimono, one in each hand. 

Sixth day. He noticed the knitted doll’s bells, and edged towards it, trying 
to reach it. Sometimes he would manage to touch it and the bells 
would ring. 

Sixth month. Second day. He can propel himself towards a doll or water-bottle 
or other object of desire, over a distance of about half a foot. He is 
able to hold a bottle to his lips, and could drink his milk or water in 
this way, except that he is likely to hold the bottle at the wrong angle, 
with the result that much air is taken and little or no liquid. 

He reaches for a spoon and tries to put it in his mouth. 

Eighth month. Eleventh day. Handled closed safety-pin. This is one of his 
favorite toys. He knocked his bottle against the bars of his crib. 

He crawled up and down a bed, in pursuit of a red-covered book, as 
described under “Physical Development.” 

He beat his foot on the floor of the “kiddie-coop” so loudly that is could 
be heard all over the house. 

Tenth month. First day. He stands with his hands on the lower shelf of the 




Infancy 


53 


library table and removes books and magazines. 

He likes “Dock and Dang”, the rocking-horse chair. 

He rocks himself in it, and stands upright on its floor. 

Fifth day. He took his first step. He was standing beside the light straw 
chair in the guest-room and it slipped a little under his pressure, sliding 
a few inches along the floor. He very slowly and with infinite pains 
dragged a foot forward to support his weight. Then he drew the other 
foot under him. Presently the watchers saw him push the chair a short 
distance and laboriously repeat the process of bringing his feet into 
line. During the ensuing half-hour, he practised his new accomplishment 
without rest, performing the miracle with rapidly increasing ease. He 
pulls himself up very quickly and easily by a chair or in his crib, hold¬ 
ing the side, or in the coop, or in the kitchen by the fireless cooker, or 
by the lower shelf of the living-room table. 

Twelfth month. Twenty-eighth day. With a tin can he beat the tray which is 
used in weighing him, showing enjoyment and evident pride in his ac¬ 
complishment. 

He managed to get a knife out of a dresser-drawer, closed the drawer, 
and was creeping down the hall with it when he was apprehended. 

Fourteenth month. Fourteenth day. He responds to “baby dance”, or “dance a 
little baby” in the funniest way, bobbing up and down from the knees. 

Twenty-eighth day. He often asks for a hammer. He is very fond of 

SENSE IMPRESSIONS 

First month. Fourth day. The first reaction to a sound 
stimulus was observed when John gave a start and 
a cry at the sounding of the hospital gong. 
Twenty-fourth day. The child’s father held him when 
standing under a lighted chandelier. The child’s 
eyes sought and found the light, and continued to 
do so as often as the father turned or otherwise 
shifted his position. 

Twenty-eighth day. John winked and started when the 
telephone rang near where he was nursing. 

Third month. Thirtieth day. He followed a rubber doll with his eyes when 
someone pinched it to make it squeak. He did not want the rubber doll 
in his month. 

Fourth month. Sixth day. He was interested in the doll’s bells. 

Sixth month. Tenth day. He investigates the edge of his bathtub every day. 


pounding. 








54 


The Foundation Library 


Sometimes he turns entirely over in his bath in order to examine it 
more closely. He grasps the edge so tightly that it is difficult to loosen 
his hands. 

He has discovered several ways to make noises for his own entertain¬ 
ment, such as beating his bottle against the bars of his crib, or striking 
the floor of the coop with his foot. These accomplishments have been 
mentioned before. To-day he dropped a talcum-box four times, as 
quickly as it was returned to him, evidently liking the noise. 

Twenty-first day. He laughed at Nancy’s antics for his benefit. When 
she talked to him, he noticed her teeth and watched her mouth as if fas¬ 
cinated. He is always interested in her glasses. 

He had the most seraphic expression when his mother kissed his palm. 

Tenth month. First day. He likes to play with an old magazine or catalogue, 
tearing off one sheet after another, presumably in order to enjoy the 
sound of tearing. He sits happily in his buggy for an hour, watching 
the children play. 

Eleventh month. Twenty-third day. He enjoyed beating two tin cups together. 

Twelfth month. Twenty-eighth day. His delight is to sit on the floor in front 
of the cupboard where pots and pans are kept and pull them out on the 
kitchen floor. This is the most satisfying noise-producing method that 
he has yet evolved. 

Thirteenth month. Thirteenth day. Elizabeth’s reaction to the piano is much 
more marked than John’s. She strikes a note at random, and leans back 
in her mother’s arms to listen, with evident enjoyment. 

Seventeenth month. Nineteenth day. When John hears music of any sort, on 
the street or from a neighbor’s victrola or player-piano, he begins to 
play “Flying Birds,” rising on his toes, whirling and waving his arms. 
Sometimes he lifts his hand as if for silence, and stands very quietly 
listening. 

Twenty-third day. For some time the children have been running, marching 
and skipping to music, as well as playing “Flying Birds,” “High-stepping 
Horses,” etc. There is one rhythm from “Peter Pan” musical setting in 
which the child represents a sailor pulling ropes in order to raise or 
lower the sails of an imaginary ship. John did this to-day without sug¬ 
gestion other than that given by the music. 

IMITATION 

First month. Eighth day. Miss Warren (nurse) reported that John smiled at her. 

Eighth month. Eleventh day. He beat on the key-board of a toy piano, after 
being shown how to do it. 



Infancy 


55 


Twenty-fifth day. He can wave his hand “Bye-bye,” and play “Peek-a-boo” 
with a handkerchief or napkin. He seems to remember the “Boo!” and 
waits expectantly for it. 

Ninth month. Second day. When John waves his hand in response to “Bye- 
bye” he first thinks a minute. If one perseveres, he nearly always re¬ 
sponds, but not at once. It takes time to make the coordination. 

Sixth day. Nancy makes a clicking sound with her lips, and says, “Give me 
a kiss”. John makes a similar noise in response. 

Tenth day. He attempted to reproduce Nancy’s trilling. 

Tenth month. First day. He holds a magazine in a reading position, and seems 
to be studying it with absorption. 

Eleventh month. Tenth day. He attempted to put on a shoe. 

Sixteenth day. He tries to put a cap on his head, and also to comb his hair. 
He responds to “Baby choke!” with a little sound like a cough. 

He plays “Pat-a-cake” with or without suggestion. 

His first phrase, “Nice kitty”, markedly shows Nancy’s inflection. 
Twenty-fourth day. He pretends to eat, using an old bell as a bowl, and 
a real spoon or any toy in the least degree resembling a spoon. 

This is done repeatedly, with evident enjoyment. 

He “blows a horn” with a spool or the bathroom spray-hose or anything 
that remotely resembles a horn. Mary Ellen has a toy horn, so he is 
familiar with its use. 

He imitates Nancy when she puts out her tongue or sucks in her cheeks. 
Twelfth month. Twenty-eighth day. He can purse his lips in a whistling posi¬ 
tion. 

Thirteenth month. Eighteenth day. Nancy was taking some garments out of 
a pail and spreading them on the grass to bleach. John picked one up 
and replaced it in the pail. He had often seen her do this. 

He loves to smell flowers. He exaggerates the sniffing which he has 
seen others do, wrinkling his nose and sometimes his whole face. 
Sixteenth month. Twenty-third day. He can whistle softly. 

Seventeenth month. Sixteenth day. He plays “Here’s a Ball for Baby” from 
Miss Poullson’s “Nursery Finger Plays.” 

Twenty-first month. Thirteenth day. He went with Aaron and the whole fam¬ 
ily to see the college barns full of cows and sheep. He knows what 
they say now, and makes a different cry for the full-grown sheep and 
the baby lambs. 

Twenty-second month. Third day. He sat in a small chair with a doll in his 
arms, rocking and singing “Bye-bye.” 



56 


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ASSOCIATION 

Fourth month. Twenty-eighth day. John pulls at his mother’s dress to hurry 
nursing. (This observation and several others included in the present 
section might perhaps be more appropriately classified as belonging to 
the “Memory” group. The present arrangement has been adhered to 
in order to offer as many types of experiences as possible, as a basis 
for intelligent child-study.) 

Sixth month. Second day. He reached for a spoon and tried to put it in his 
mouth. Presumably he associates the spoon in the mouth as an agree¬ 
able sensation, having taken orange juice in this way. 

Seventh month. Twelfth day. Several noise-making activities were noticed, 
as the knocking of his bottle against the bars of his crib, and dropping 
the talcum box again and again. 

Ninth month. Sixth day. For the first time he was observed consciously to 
pinch his rubber doll to make it squeak. He often uses the word “Da- 
da,” and always watches his father when he is in the room, and follows 
with his eyes when he leaves. His mother has been trying to teach 
him to apply the name to the person. Apparently no connection has as 
yet been set up between the two. 

Tenth month. First day. He has learned the meaning of “No, no.” The first 
evidence occurred when his father had put a pile of magazines on the 
floor, and told him not to touch by using these words. The child drew 
his hands back. 

Eleventh month. Tenth day. He calls the stuffed toy cat and the rubber one 
“Titty,” as well as the live one. 

Thirteenth month. Seventh day. Aaron is out of town. The child’s mother 
said, “Where’s Daddy?” John said, “Ba, ba,” and waved his hand. 

Eighteenth day. John saw a clock across the room, said “Tick, tick!” and 
walked rapidly to get it. 

Fourteenth month. Fourteenth day. When he is taken into Nancy’s room in 
the early morning, she allows him to play with her alarm clock. Later 
in the day, when he passes her closed door, he says “Tick, tick,” showing 
that the clock experience is his most vivid remembrance in connection 
with the room. Again, he uses the same expression on hearing another 
clock ring in an entirely different place. 

He has been taught the meaning of “hot.” He says it whenever he 
has occasion to touch the faucets in the bathroom, or when he goes near 
the range or the coal-oil stove, or comes near the electric grill. He 
knows the word “dinner,” and says it. Four days ago, when his mother 




Infancy 


57 


had finished his bath and was washing her hands, she said, “Now we’ll 
go find Johnnie’s dinner.” Like a flash he was at the top of the stairs, 
got a false start, and fell to the bottom. A bad bump on his forehead, 
another on his eye, and a tiny corner broken off one of his beautiful 
teeth, were the most serious damages. 

Nineteenth month. Fifteenth day. He came into the living-room where 
“Daddy” was playing the piano in the dark. He reached up his hand 
to the light button, said “Urn” in his usual way, and then “Light.” 

Twentieth day. While looking at a catalogue, he came to a page of watches 
and said “Tick, tick!” This is the first instance of his identifying 
pictures that can be vouched for as original. 

Twenty-second month. Twenty-fifth day. John saw a bed illustrated in a cat¬ 
alogue. Mary Ellen said, “Lie down on the bed,” and John put his 
head on the page. The next minute we saw him sitting on it, for he 
had found a chair. 

He found a train picture, and said “too-oo-oo!” This indicates a decided 
advance in his thinking. 

When we say to him, “Where is Mr. Holobaugh?” (mail-carrier), he 
answers, “Lettersh.” 

Twenty-fourth month. Fourth day. When he was being dressed to go out on 
a warm day, he volunteered “No mittens ’day, no ’ubbersh ’day.” 

MEMORY 

Third month. Thirtieth day. John got the foot of his 
knitted doll in his mouth, sucked it, and showed 
disappointment at finding no milk. 

Fourth month. Sixth day. When he is about through 
nursing, he will look around as if for the bottle 
which always follows. When his mother shakes 
the bottle to cool it, he follows the movement 
with his eye, and refuses to finish the nursing. 

Eighth month. Twenty-third day. After his teething sickness, which kept him 
upstairs for a week, he was delighted to come down and sit in his buggy 
in the kitchen, and to play in the “kiddie-coop.” He gave every indica¬ 
tion of remembering his former experiences. He has not forgotten how 
to “stand up,” as the children call his gymnastics on the floor. He stif¬ 
fens his arms and legs, and moves about on all-fours. 

Tenth month. Seventeenth day. He knows his mother. He crawls to her when 
she comes into the room, and puts a hand on her dress. 





58 


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Eleventh month. Eighth day. While going up to bed, he played with the shad¬ 
ow his hands made in the sunlight on the wall. The next night he 
discovered the same rays, repeated his play, and seemed to recognize 
the experience in a way very charming to see. 

Eighteenth month. Sixteenth day. He filled a toy cup with water, and spilled 
it on the bathroom floor. His mother said, “Naughty baby!” Imme¬ 
diately, and without suggestion, he went into the nursery, brought one 
of Mary Ellen’s doll dresses, and wiped up the water. 

Sometimes when he is being dressed, he asks to play “Here’s a Ball for 
Baby,” by making the cradle or the umbrella with his hands. 

Twenty-first month. Eighteenth day. Some months ago, he was shown how to 
hold a conch-shell to his ear and listen. To-day he was seen holding a 
round box to his ear, in the identical attitude, giving every appearance 
of intent listening. 

Twenty-second month. Twentieth day. He brought the toy dog “Pat” to show 
his mother, with the red felt doll’s cap on its head. His mother said, 
“Funny doggy!” The child thought a minute, said “Funny kitty,” and 
went into the nursery. He came back bringing the stuffed cat “Paddy” 
wearing the cap. 

Twenty-fourth month. Fourth day. He says “Take-it hand,” when going down 
the stairs. We are wondering whether this caution is the product of 
his fall. 

He knows the mail carrier, egg man, milk dealer and other household 
purveyors all by name, and goes through the list without an error. When 
he is asked, “What does Mr. Holobaugh bring us?” he answers, “Let- 
tersh,” “What does Mr. Harvey bring us?” “Bread.” “Who brings us 
the eggs ?” “Mr. Royer,” etc. 

IMAGINATION 

Imagination in the two children who are the subjects of 
this record developed rapidly after the second year, but up 
to the close of this period only a few instances were noted. 
Several of these have already been cited under different 
headings, as for instance, when John pretended to eat out of 
an old bell, used an empty spoon for a horn, or played 
“Flying Birds.” 

Twenty-second month. Twenty-first day. John built some 
stairs with blocks, and said, “Stairs, stairs!” Then he made a motion with 
his leg, like climbing stairs. This is the first instance that has been ob¬ 
served when he has made a thing and named it intelligently. 






Infancy 


59 


Twenty-fifth day. He rode astride a big stick and said “Horse!” He was 
prancing about on all-fours, and his mother patted his head and said, 
“Nice doggy.” He played “Dog” for a few minutes. This is the first 
impersonation that has been noticed. 

He was playing with the little iron elephant, and his mother said, “Give 
Jumbo some peanuts.” He pretended to do so, repeating several times. 
Twenty-fourth month. Tenth day. Elizabeth climbed into the wagon, saying, 
“Can I get in wanging, mama? T’ain coming, Too, too! Ding, dong!” 

PLAY 

The few instances of imaginative play which were observed during the first 
two years of the lives of the children John and Elizabeth have been al¬ 
ready recorded in the preceding section. The present section concerns 
itself principally with their spontaneous choices of play materials. 

First month. Twenty-eighth day. John fingered part of his carriage. 

Seventh month. Eleventh day. He romped with M. E. on her bed. 

He handled a closed safety-pin, which seems to be a favorite toy. Also 
he played with rubber cat, rattle, talcum box, swan (bath toy), and cork. 
His method is mostly handling, sometimes shaking. 

He tried to get a pencil, but was not allowed to have it. 

Fifteenth day. He played with a mirror, cough-drop box, milk-bottle top, 
teddy-bear, rattle. 

Twentieth day. He played with a ball, rattle and a teething-ring. 

He toyed with the buttons on his mother’s dress. 

Twenty-sixth day. He likes best to have his whole box of toys, and is 
happy with them for hours at a time. The box contains two rubber 
dolls, knit doll (Ducky Daddies), two celluloid rattles, swan (bath toy), 
rubber cat, tobacco-can rattle (made by Mary Ellen) and a spool. 
Eighth month. Sixth day. He played hide-and-seek very prettily with Nellie, 
hiding behind his carriage-top and peeping out to hear her say “Boo!” 
He is very merry, and plays all his games with relish. He laughs a good 
deal, and crows. 

Eleventh day. He beat with a spoon on a pan lid. 

Twelfth day. He chased his shadow on the bed. 

Tenth month. First day. He likes “daddy’s” keys. 

He likes to tear paper, also to eat it. 

Twenty-sixth day. The drawer of aprons in the kitchen amused him to-day. 
He pulled them all out, and scattered them on the floor. 

Eleventh month. Fourth day. He likes to have two cups, one smaller than the 




60 


The Foundation Library 


other, and to attempt to put one into the other. He does not succeed, 
but tries and tries. 

Twenty-third day. He shows a taste for machinery. The treadle of mother’s 
sewing-machine, and “daddy’s” revolving book case are beginning to 
be fascinating. 

He put empty spools on top of blocks. 

He enjoyed beating his two tin cups together. 

Twentieth day. A game which afforded much enjoyment consisted in roll¬ 
ing a vaseline jar down a big pillow. Again and again he put it up and 
watched it roll down, with eagerness and delight. 

He likes to hold a dandelion or other flower, also to eat it. 

Twelfth month. Twenty-eighth day. He is more enthusiastic than ever about 
the sewing-machine. Also he is intensely interested in the revolving 
spray which is attached to the garden hose, a hammer, the revolving 
book-case, a covered pail, the cupboard where pots and pans are kept. 

Thirteenth month. Sixteenth day. He played in quite the orthodox way with 
an iron train-car, making the wheels go around. 

Eighteenth day. He allows preference for a broom, carpet sweeper, rake, 
hoe, hose-carriage. He can hardly be kept away from the lawn mower 
and the sewing-machine, particularly when they are in use. 

Twenty-third day. Elizabeth’s favorite toys are any small things that she 
can take out of a box and scatter, such as buttons, acorns, tin dishes. 

Fourteenth month. Fourteenth day. John loves books, catalogues, boxes of 
letters, a little blank diary. He has a taste for all kinds of machinery. 
We are afraid that he has put the letter scales out of order. 

Seventeenth month. Fourteenth day. He plays with buttons or any small ob¬ 
jects with absorption. Buckeyes, scissors and pins are favorites. He 
does not try to cut with the scissors; indeed, this function of scissors 
has no meaning for him. His occupation with the pins is sticking them 
in a cushion. 

He still finds books fascinating, and the presence or absence of pictures 
seems to make no difference. 

He can drag Mary Ellen’s train across the floor with a string. 

Nineteenth month. Twentieth day. He does not care for the “kiddie-car.” He 
is very fond of a set of colored chips. Best of all is any kind of a book. 
The twenty-second month witnessed the first imaginative play. Several 
illustrations of this have been cited in the preceding section. It is of more 
than passing interest to note that the imaginative impulse was not devel¬ 
oped in the child Elizabeth until two months later, although by the be- 




Infancy 


61 


ginning of the third year her richness of imagery and originality were 
quite as fully developed as in the case of her brother. 

Twenty-third month. Fifth day. Elizabeth likes her dolly at last. She has 
never cared for her before. She loves the white kitten, as all children do. 

Twenty-fourth month. Third day. Both John and Elizabeth play “kitty” nearly 
all the time. They ask for milk in a saucer on the floor, and the house 
is full of their mewings and purrings. 

Both delight in looking at books, especially the family post-card collec¬ 
tions. Elizabeth takes out pictures with a will, unless forcibly pre¬ 
vented. 

Fourth day. John escapes at every opportunity to play in the sandpile next 
door. 

Eleventh day. Elizabeth put “Teddy” (bear) in the little wagon, saying, 
“Teddy wants a ride.” 

She put ”Fanny” (doll) on her pillow, saying, “Go sleep, Dolly.” 
DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE 

Seventh month. Fifteenth day. John called Mary Ellen to assist in his bath. 

His meaning was unmistakable. She had been playing with him, when 
mother picked him up and carried him into the bathroom, and she went 
into the nursery. He stretched out his arms towards the door and said, 
“Uh dah!” several times. When she came, he was all smiles. 

Eighth month. Second day. He looks up in response to “Johnnie!” 

Ninth month. Second day. He understands “No, no!” An account of the first 
definite proof of this has been given above, in the section called “Asso¬ 
ciation.” 

Tenth month. Twenty-sixth day. His first word was “Titty” (kitty). 

Eleventh month. Fifth day. He responds to “Give me a bite of cracker.” 

Sixteenth day. His first phrase was “Nice kitty.” 

Twenty-fourth day. He says “Where’s Johnny?” 

Twenty-ninth day. “Tick, tick.” 

Twelfth month. Seventh day. The child’s father is out of town. His mother 
said to him, “Where’s daddy?” The child said “ba ba” (bye-bye), and 
waved his hand. The preceding illustration and several of the others 
to follow have been already mentioned in other connections. The repeti¬ 
tion has been thought desirable for the sake of continuity. 

Thirteenth month. Eighteenth day. John took two pieces of soap from the 
washboard, and left them on the floor. His mother pointed to one, and 
said, “Pick it up.” He did so. She said, “Now put it back,” indicating 




62 


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the board. He obeyed. The process was repeated with the second piece. 
The same lesson was given with pea-pods; while mother shelled peas, 
he had a great time scattering them over the floor, and afterwards, when 
she said, “Give it to mother,” he brought two, one at a time. He had 
a bad habit of taking the pin out of the screen hinge. His mother tried 
to teach him not to touch it by repeated “No, no’s.” Finally she put 
him in the coop, where it was out of reach. The same difficulty was 
encountered with the sewing-machine band. He would not keep his 
hands away, and had to be put in his crib. He wept bitterly, but the next 
day he was at it again. 

Twentieth day. He says “Tick, tick,” when he sees a clock, and “Chick, 
chick,” when he sees chickens. The two words are very similar. 

Fourteenth month. Fourteenth day. He knows “Hot,” and uses it, very often 
leaving off the “h.” 

He knows “Dinner,” and says it. 

Eighteenth month. Sixteenth day. He looks out of the window at night, and 
says “All dark!” He pulls the curtains aside, and is very serious about it. 

Nineteenth month. Fifteenth day. He reached his hand up to the electric light 
button, said “Um,” and then “Light.” 

He asked for his milk bottle, saying “Bottie.” 

Twentieth day. His vocabulary: 


Daddy 

’bye 

thank you 

Mama 

hot 

all dark 

Sister 

cold 

all gone 

baby 

light 

chicken 

Nellie 

please 

tick tick 

book 


kitty 

Sounds for dog, bear, whistle. 



Twenty-fourth day. When he poured out his milk again and again, on pur¬ 
pose, Nancy said: “Go stand in the corner.” He ran crying, and stayed 
until she said, “Come back.” 

Twenty-first month. Eleventh day. He saw a picture of storks or wild geese 
flying and said his chicken sound, like “Cut, cut.” 

He begins to make sentences. He brought out the silver fruit dish, and 
his mother said, “Pretty, pretty.” He carried it around, repeating 
“Pretty!” Then his mother said “Put it away.” He obeyed, and then 
said, “All gone, pretty.” 

Twenty-second month. Eleventh day. He built stairs with blocks, and named 
them, saying “Stairs, stairs.” 




Infancy 


63 


Twenty-fifth day. “Funny kitty!” (stuffed cat wearing doll’s cap). 

“Horse” (riding a stick). 

He asks for a pencil by saying “Write!” 

He turns the pages of a catalogue, and finds various objects which he 
he recognizes and names, as “Daddy,” “Nennie,” “ubbersh,” “tick ticks,” 
and so on. 

Twenty-third month. Eleventh day. Elizabeth’s expressions: “Kufing” (ex¬ 
cuse me), “Un doing?” (what are you doing?), “Go bye-bye, daddy, ’n 
car” (go for a ride with daddy in the car), “Make a mu’ik” (make some 
music). 

Fifteenth day. Elizabeth: “Can I go get it my t’ain, mama?” (train). 
“T’ank you.” 

“I got a t’ain, sitter.” (sister). 

“See kitty, mama, run away fast.” 

Twenty-sixth day. While trying to put on a refractory shoe: “Naughty 
shoe!” 

Twenty-fourth month. Fourth day. John volunteers remarks: 

“Daddy gone down-town.” 

“Drop-it rattle baby.” 

“Gone, gone, tummy” (when his shirt was put on). 

He saw himself in a hand-mirror. He turned it over and said: “Where 
boy gone?” Then he turned it glass side uppermost again, and said, 
“Boy down there mirror.” 

He was on the porch to-day with the gate locked, and called loudly, 
“Mutter! Mutter! Come get it ball!” His ball had rolled to the grass 
outside. 

He always wants to go out the back door, but he calls it “front door.” 
He volunteered, “No mittens ’day, no ’ubbersh ’day,” when being dressed 
to go out on a warm day. 

He says “Kick-it ball,” and calls a handkerchief “hankit.” 

Eighth day. He was looking at pictures, and said: “Little boy goin’ dain 
down again. Little boy, get up here!” A man at the door asked Eliza¬ 
beth where her mother was. She replied with a record-breaking sen¬ 
tence—“I don’t know. I think she’s up-stairs washing Johnny’s face 
and hands.” 









64 


The Foundation Library 


®&3ssz$sssesesees9s3sesgs3s&s£sssss3s£££sss3sssssss£s2333se* 
The Child*s Gymnasium 

From 3 Months to 2 Years 



The baby’s business now is to develop his legs, his arms and his 
back muscles. He has work to do in getting his eyes and hands to work 
together, to make his feet and eyes coordinate and various other parts 
of his body to work together for his service. Pushing his feet against 
resisting hands makes his leg muscles stronger. 







































Infancy 


65 


QP&ss&eeeeeeeesesesesssesseeseesesss&essseessssessssssessez® 



Lifting heavy things develops arms, legs and back muscles. Pushing 
heavy toys encourages exercise of the big muscles. Floor plays with 
big toys are important for him at this time. A bottle and cork presents 
a real problem in hand and eye coordination. 

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66 


The Foundation Library 


HEIGHT WEIGHT TABLES FOR INFANTS 

Based on data compiled by R. M. Woodbury for the Children’s Bureau, U. S. 
Department of Labor. The figures for the new born are 
based on data gathered by R. E. Scammon. 

Arranged by C. R. Bardeen, M. D. 

BOYS 


Mean weight at a given age and stature 


Birth 1 mo. 2 mo. 3 mo. 4 mo. 5 mo. 6 mo. 7 mo. 8 mo. 9 mo.lOmo. llmo. 12mo. 15mo, 


Stature 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

18 

1 6.0| 

1 

1 

1 

| 

1 

r 

| 







18.5 

1 6.31 

1 

! 

1 

1 

! 

i 

| 







19 

1 6.7| 

7.51 

1 

1 

1 

1 

i 

! 







19.5 

1 7 . 0 \ 

7 . 9 \ 

1 

1 

1 

1 

i 

I 







20 

1 7.41 

8.4| 

1 

! 

1 

1 

i 

1 







20.5 

1 7 . 8 | 

8.81 

9.3| 

1 

1 

1 

i 

1 







21 

1 8 . 2 \ 

9 . 2 \ 

9.8| 

1 

1 

1 

i 

1 







21.5 

1 8 . 6 \ 

9.7 1 

10.3| 

10.6| 

1 

1 

i 

! 







22 

1 9.01 

10-1 1 

10.7 1 

11.1| 

1 

1 

i 

1 







22.5 

1 9-4 

10 . 6 \ 

11 , 2 \ 

11.6 

11.9| 

1 

i 

1 







23 

1 9.8| 

11 . 0 \ 

11 .7 

12 . 2 \ 

12.5| 

12.7| 

i 

1 







23.5 

1 1 

11.5| 

12 . 8 \ 

12.7 1 

13.0| 

13.3| 

13.6| 

1 







24 

1 1 

12.0 

12 . 8 \ 

13 . 2 | 

13 . 6 \ 

13.9| 

14.2| 

14.4| 







24.5 

1 1 

1 

13.3 

13 . 8 \ 

14 . 2 \ 

14.5 

14.7| 

14.9| 

15.1| 






25 

1 1 

1 

13.8| 

14-4 1 

14 . 8 | 

15.1 1 

15.3| 

15.5| 

15.7| 

15.9| 





25.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

15.0| 

15 . 4 \ 

15.7 1 

15 . 9 \ 

16.11 

16.3| 

16.51 

16.6| 




26 

1 1 

1 

1 

15.5’| 

16 . 0 1 

16 . 3 | 

16 . 5 \ 

16 . 7 \ 

16.8| 

17.0 

17.2| 

17.3 

17.4| 


26.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

16.6| 

16 . 9 \ 

17 .1 1 

17 . 3 \ 

47.41 

17.6| 

17.7 

17.91 

17.9 

18.0 

27 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

17.2| 

17 . 6 \ 

17 . 7 \ 

17 . 9 | 

18.0 1 

18.2 1 

18.3| 

18.4[ 

18.5| 

18.5 

27.5 

1 1 


1 

1 

1 

18.2| 

18 . 3 \ 

18.5 1 

18 . 6 | 

18 . 7 1 

18 . 9 \ 

19.0| 

19.0| 

19.1 

28 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

18.9| 

19.0| 

19 . 1 1 

19.2 1 

19 . 3 | 

19 . 4| 

19 . 5 \ 

19.6| 

19.7 

28.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

19.7| 

19.7| 

19 . 8 \ 

19.9 1 

20 0 | 

20 . 1 \ 

20 . 2 \ 

20.2 

29 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

20.3 

20.4| 

20.4| 

20 . 5 \ 

20.6 1 

20 . 7 | 

20.7 1 

20.8 

29.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

21.0| 

21.1| 

21.1| 

21 . 2 \ 

21 . 3 \ 

21 . 3 | 

21.4 

30 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

21.6| 

21.7| 

21.7| 

21.8| 

21 . 8 \ 

21 . 9 \ 

22.0 

30.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

22.3| 

22.31 

22.4| 

22.4) 

22.4 1 

22.6 

31 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

23.0[ 

23.0| 

23.0| 

23.0| 

23.1| 

23.2 

31.5 

1 1 

I 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 



23.6| 

23.61 

23.6| 

23.7| 

23.8 

32 

1 1 

1 

I 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 




24.1| 

24.2| 

24.3 

32.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 




24.7| 

24.8| 

24.9 

33 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 





25.3| 

25.5 

33.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

I 

1 

1 






26.1 

34 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 






26.7 


Note. The numbers in heavy type indicate the mean height and mean weight for a given age. About 50 per 
cent of all female infants of the given age come within an inch above or below the mean stature and within 10 per 
cent above or below the mean weight. The numbers in italics in each column indicate approximately the range within 
which 50 per cent of infants come. For a given stature and age the weight of 50 per cent of the infants comes within 
about 7 per cent of the weight in the table. 




















































Infancy 


67 


HEIGHT WEIGHT TABLES FOR INFANTS 

Based on data compiled by R. M. Woodbury for the Children’s Bureau, U. S. 
Department of Labor. The figures for the new born are 
based on data gathered by R. E. Scammon. 

Arranged by C. R. Bardeen, M. D. 

GIRLS 


Mean weight at a given age and stature 

Birth 1 mo. 2 mo. 3 mo. 4 mo. 5 mo. 6 mo. 7 mo. 8 mo. 9 mo.10mo.llmo.12mo.15mo. 
Stature lbs, lbs. lbs. Ibs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. 


18 

1 6.0| 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 








18.5 

| 6.31 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 








19 

1 6.7 1 

7.4! 

1 

1 

I 

1 

1 








19.5 

1 7 . 0 \ 

7.8| 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 








20 

1 7 . 4 | 

8.2| 

8.6| 

1 

1 

1 









20.5 

1 7.81 

8.0| 

9.1| 

9.41 

1 

1 

1 








21 

1 8 . 2 \ 

9 . 0 \ 

9.5| 

9.8| 

1 

1 

1 








21.5 

1 8.6| 

9.5 

10.0 1 

10.3| 

10.6| 

I 

1 








22 

1 9,0| 

9 . 9 \ 

10 . 5 \ 

10.8| 

11.1| 

11.4| 

1 








22.5 

1 9.4| 

10 . 4 \ 

10 , 9 | 

11 . 3 \ 

11.6| 

12.0| 

1 








23 

1 9.8| 

10.8| 

11 . 4 \ 

11.8) 

12.1| 

12.5| 

12.7| 








23.5 

1 ! 

11.3| 

11.9 1 

12 . 3 | 

12.6 1 

13.0| 

13.2| 

13.6| 







24 

1 1 

11.8| 

12.4| 

12 . 8 \ 

13 . 2 \ 

13 . 6 \ 

13.7| 

14.1| 

14.3| 






22.5 

1 1 

1 

13.0| 

13 . 41 

13 . 7 ) 

14-1 1 

14.3| 

14.6| 

14.8| 

14.9| 





25 

1 1 

1 

13.5| 

13.9| 

U - 3 \ 

14 . 7 | 

14-8 1 

15.2| 

15.31 

15.4| 

15.6| 




25.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

14.5| 

U - 9 \ 

15.S| 

15 . 4 \ 

15.7) 

15.9| 

16.0| 

16.1| 

16.3| 



26 

1 1 

1 

1 

15.1| 

15.5| 

15.3| 

16 . 0 | 

16 . 3 \ 

18.41 

16.5| 

16.7| 

16.8| 

16.9| 


26.5 

1 | 

1 

1 

1 

16.1| 

16.5| 

16 . 0| 

16 . 8 | 

16 . 9 \ 

17.11 

17.2| 

17.3| 

17.4| 

17.4 

27 

1 i 

1 

1 

1 

16.7| 

17.1| 

17 . 2 \ 

17.41 

17 . 5 | 

17.0| 

17.8| 

17.9 

18.0| 

18.0 

27.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

17.7| 

17.8| 

18.dj 

18.1| 

18 . 2 | 

18.4| 

18.5| 

18.6| 

18.6 

28 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

18.3| 

18.4| 

18.5| 

18.0| 

18.8| 

18 . 9 | 

13.0| 

13.1| 

19.1 

28.5 

| | 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

19.0| 

19.1| 

19.2| 

13.41 

13.5| 

19 . 6 | 

13.7| 

19.7 

29 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

19.7| 

19.8| 

19.9| 

20.1 1 

20.1 1 

20 . 2 ) 

20.7 

29.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

20.3| 

20.3| 

20.5| 

20.7| 

20.7 1 

20.7 1 

20.8 

30 

1 • 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 


20.9| 

21.1| 

21.3| 

21.3| 

21 . 3 \ 

21.3 

30.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 


21.5| 

21.7| 

21.9) 

21.9| 

21.8| 

21.8 

31 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 



22.3 

22.5| 

22.5| 

22.4| 

22.4 

31.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 





22.9| 

22.9j 

22.9 

32 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

I 

1 

1 





23.5| 

23.5| 

23.5 

32.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

I 

I 






24.1| 

24.1 

33 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 






24.6| 

24.6 

33.5 

1 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 





1 

i 


25.2 

34 

1 1 

I 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 





1 


25.7 


Note. Perfectly healthy children of different types at any given age frequently vary in height. To attempt 
to bring the weight of a short five-year-old up to that of a tall five-year-old might result in bringing about physical 
disorders. Modern doctors are inclined to judge the child's weight by his height rather than by his age, to avoid this. 
These tables consequently state weight in relation to height and not to age. 





































































68 


The Foundation Library 


HEIGHT WEIGHT TABLE: 15 MONTHS TO 6 YEARS 

BOYS 


Stature 

Normal Weight 

7% Weight 

20% Over weight 

30 

22 

20.5 

26.4 

31 

23.2 

21.6 

27.9 

32 

24.5 

22.8 

29.4 

33 

25.7 

23.9 

30.8 

34 

27.1 

25.2 

32.5 

35 

28.4 

26.5 

34 

36 

29.7 

27.7 

35.6 

37 

31.1 

29 

37.3 

38 

32.5 

30.3 

39 

39 

33.8 

31.5 

40.5 

40 

35.2 

32.8 

42.2 

41 

36.8 

34.3 

44.1 

42 

38.4 

35.8 

46 

43 

40.1 

37.3 

48.1 

44 

41.7 

38.8 

49.7 

45 

43.5 

40.5 

52.1 

46 

45.4 

42.4 

54.4 

47 

47.2 

43.9 

56.6 


HEIGHT WEIGHT TABLE: 15 MONTHS TO 6 YEARS 

GIRLS 


Stature 

Normal Weight 

7% Under weight 

20% Over weight 

30 

21.2 

19.8 

25.4 

31 

22.6 

21.1 

27.1 

32 

23.7 

22.1 

28.4 

33 

25 

23.4 

30 

34 

26.4 

24.6 

31.8 

35 

27.7 

25.8 

33.2 

36 

29.1 

27.1 

34.9 

37 

30.4 

28.3 

36.4 

38 

31.7 

29.5 

38 

39 

33 

30.7 

39.6 

40 

34.5 

32.1 

41.4 

41 

36 

33.5 

43.2 

42 

37.5 

35.1 

45 

43 

39.2 

36.5 

47 

44 

41 

38.2 

49.2 

45 

42.7 

39.8 

51.2 

46 

45 

41.9 

54 

47 

46.8 

43.6 

56.1 


Note. Perfectly healthy children of different types at any given age frequently vary in height. To attempt 
to bring the weight of a short five-year-old up to that of a tall five-year-old might result in bringing about physical 
disorders. Modern doctors are inclined to judge the child's weight by his height rather than by his age, to avoid this. 
These tables consequently state weight in relation to height and not to age. 

























































V/H KTRKRRir>r > . J 


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* 














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.* 





I 




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■ 






















Early Childhood 


69 





HE child is likely now to challenge the mother’s authority even where certain 


controls have been established. He is finding out that he is an individual, 


and will try in all sorts of ways to see how far he can set his will against that 
of others. Direct opposition may often bring trouble. Control through indirect 
ways will bring best results. The use of terms of encouragements and praise, 
or suggestions to do other things which appear attractive will usually divert the 
mind from the matter of contest. John had been contrary and troublesome. 
His mother, at her wit’s end, instead of scolding, went quietly to the window, 
threw it up, and called John to see the funny dog running along the street. A 
few breaths of fresh air, a new interest, and John’s state of mind was entirely 
changed. Again, his discovery of himself as capable of satisfying his own 
desire will lead to all sorts of attempts to get forbidden foods and objects, as 
much for the joy of succeeding as for using them. 

Eating. He will attempt to eat between meals, a habit which must not be 
permitted. The remedy is to deny him some pleasure for each offense. Be 
sure to give him at meal time any candy, cookie, or cracker which kind friends 
give him between meals. When he knows that it is really his own, that no one 
else will eat it, he will usually be willing to save such treats until meal time. 

Miss Parsons’ articles on feeding* tells what to select, and why such selec¬ 
tions should be made. Now comes the real difficulty, where too often mothers 
give up, how to make the child eat. Perhaps there is as much discipline of the 

“Turn to the feeding score in the next section; it applies here as well. ,It might be copied, to hang 
in the kitchen as a guide for the family’s food, as well. 












70 


The Foundation Library 


parent as of the child in these situations. The mother who allows herself to be 
defeated in these early contests with the little child can hardly hope to hold her 
own when vital questions arise over parental control in the ’teens. 

1. Food must be palatably cooked and well seasoned. Unpalatable food is 
inexcusable for child or adult. 

2. It should be served attractively. Where there is any difficulty in getting 
the child to eat, special pains should be taken to garnish dishes; a dish of spinach 
may look pretty with a little grated raw carrot on it, or a daisy of sliced white of 
hard-boiled egg with yolk center. Funny little raisin men or faces made with 
raisins on the cereal in the dish may be among the many other things the 
ingenious mother can devise. 

3. Eating from a dish with bunny picture in the bottom often helps. The 
poor bunny doesn’t like to be covered up. Eat him free from his covers. 

4 . Serve small helpings at a time. They give courage where the large 
plateful carries dismay. Also, when a child eats two small helpings he feels he 
has really achieved something. 

5. Change the ways in which vegetables are served. A thoroughly-cooked 
cream sauce on carrots and spinach or other vegetables adds variety; for spinach 
it removes some of the strong taste and makes it more palatable. 

6 . Some few children have acquired the notion, usually from what adults 
say, that unattractive food won’t stay down. Children regurgitate easily, and 
so fool themselves and their mothers. If there is no doctor’s reason why a 
necessary food does not stay down, the mother must hold control in the matter. 
In a kindly way she may say, “Well, never mind, if that doesn’t stay down, here’s 
another dish. I have plenty more, and we’ll keep trying until one does stay.” 

7. Always give important foods and less filling one’s first. Children can 
fill up with bread and butter, milk and dessert, later. Don’t fill the stomach so 
full of milk and water that there isn’t room for other food. 

8 . If any one special food, like spinach, is the cause of trouble, give it first, 
and say that when that is gone the dinner will follow. If necessary to do so, 
follow out your words to the letter; let him go without a thing to eat, and he 
will learn the lesson. It is bad to miss a meal, but in this case the permanent 
good must be chosen. It will probably never need to be repeated. 

9. Games as Devices. Frequently children learn to like a dish after eating 
a fair amount of it. Here are some devices one mother used: Alfred was not 
in the habit of drinking enough milk. His mother gave a small glassful to him 
and a large one to his sister. Alfred felt slighted and complained. “Well, you 
know you aren’t as good a drinker as Mary, and I don’t want to waste the 
milk.” An argument followed between the children, and Alfred, to prove his 



Early Childhood 


71 



ability, drank it all. Mother said, “Yes, that’s fine, but a big glass has a great 
deal more, and you couldn’t drink it all,” and so on, until a pint of milk had 
been consumed. The fun of this game brought demands for a repetition for 
several days. Alfred’s improved condition brought a better appetite, and the 
milk question was solved. Another mother, using a small glass, pretended that 
Kate had not taken her milk, but had poured it down her dress. Mother looked, 
but couldn’t find it. She gave Kate some more and turned her back. In a 
short time Kate sang out joyfully, “That’s all gone.” Another search for milk 
possibly spilled on the floor or in the chair followed, while Kate chortled and asked 
for more. She often asked to play this game. 

Mr. Lewis taught Emma to enjoy carrots. He used a spoon for a fishing 
rod baited with carrots. While he was not looking, a “fish” took them all away. 

10. To praise children who eat well and appeal to the others to emulate them 
sometimes results well. 

Indirect Ways of Creating an Appetite. There are indirect ways of in¬ 
creasing appetite where it is lacking: 

One is giving the juice of an orange several times a day, or some strained 
tomato juice. This is done in many hospitals. The vitamines contained in 
these juices stimulate the desire to eat. 

Plenty of out-door exercise and fresh air in the room at night. 

A little body well cleaned out. 

A properly-balanced diet. 

Prevent fatigue, oversensitiveness to adult’s opinions and nervous strain. 
These cause loss of appetite. 

Children are often so sensitive to the adult’s opinion of them that an over¬ 
desire not to make mistakes and to please causes strain and loss of appetite. 

























72 


The Foundation Library 


Embarrassment caused by nagging about manners or care of clothes may cause 
it. Respiratory blockage, such as adenoids and enlarged tonsils, which cut off 
the supply of oxygen, may be the cause of lack of appetite. 

Every child should have a good appetite. See that he has it. 

How Opinions of Foods are Often Formed. Likes and dislikes are often 
matters of imitation. The baby adores his father or big brother. If father finds 
fault with the food set before him, or makes any comments about it, little son is 
quite likely to imitate him. Little Mary, who hears her mother say, “Well, I 
don’t blame her; I never could like carrots,” is going to do her best to be like 
mother. It is often not only the problem of controlling little Mary, but her 
father and brothers and sisters. 

Control of the baby often necessitates educating other members of the family 
as well, but it seems to be a terrible mistake for any mother to succumb to these 
difficulties. The little brother or sister in the family, to be loved and cared for, is 
the best opportunity the mother can have of helping to educate her other children 
in the duties of parenthood. Here is her chance, by taking the others into her 
confidence, explaining the whys and wherefores of feeding, sleep, of the hurt 
in showing off little Mary or in teasing Johnny. In her attempt to help her 
baby, she will at the same time be developing serious thought and a sense of re¬ 
sponsibility in these future parents. 

Training in Table Manners. As Miss Edwards says, “The child should be 
gaining control over certain table manners.” Among the most important 
are the following. He should— 

1 . Take small bits and spoonfuls. 

2. Not crumble bread on the tablecloth. 

3. Not spill his food. 

4. Not grab or reach for food. 

5. Wipe his mouth after drinking milk, and at end of the meal. 

6. Say “No, thank you,” and “Yes, please,” when asked to have food. 

7. Eat all that is set before him. 

8 . Have his silver on the plate, and spoon in the saucer. 







Early Childhood 


73 



Development from Two to Four Years * 

MENTAL DEVELOPMENT 

1. Attention. Still of a flitting nature; greatest concentration in doing, that is, 

doing that involves rather large, clumsy muscular movements, e. g., 
Robert upsetting contents of box on the floor and then replacing; 
banging door. 

2. Perception. Begins to recognize things by their characteristics, such as hard 

or soft, animate or inanimate. Vaguely realizes his membership in the 
family. 

3. Curiosity. Insatiable. A state of investigation, but not minute investiga¬ 

tion that comes later. Experimentation. Dawning curiosity about 
names, and about animals and things. 

4. Imitation, (a) Great .age of imitation, but (b) the beginning of inde¬ 

pendent acts, as (a) Robert putting his cup and plate away as the other 
children did, but (b) putting his lunch in his pocket, while others put 
theirs in lockers. 

5. Memory. Child remembers faces and objects. Good incidental memory of 

experiences may remain in memory for years. 

(1) Robert cries at unfamiliar faces and runs to greet familiar ones. 

(2) Goes straight to fetch his own bowl because he fetched it yesterday. 

(3) Child’s experience of nearly being run over remembered years after, 
but unless repeated Robert would forget it probably in a week or two. 

6 . Imagination. Probably developing, but there is nothing tangible to prove just 

how far this goes. 

7. Reasoning. Reasoning power certainly developing, but difficult to prove how 

much: e. g., child wishing to go out of the locked door takes key off the 
cabinet, fits it properly into keyhole and tries to turn it. 

*From a report made on the child from two to four by a committee in the Kindergarten and Lower 
Primary Department, Teachers’ College. By permission of Miss Hill. 




































74 


The Foundation Library 


8 . Language. (Discussed in Miss Edwards’ article). Child should be able to 
form words, and there is a beginning of the sentence, with a tendency 
to leave out words and prepositions, but by the end of the year he should 
be forming complete sentences; e. g., (1) Robert said, “Pitcher quite 
full,” also “Pour it out.” Child generally puts name instead of pronouns 
but with increasing tendency to substitute pronouns. (2) Child said, 
“Dorothy bad girl.” (3) Child little more advanced said, “I got no 
more sick,” “Daddy coming home in the rain.” Children often find 
difficulty in pronouncing names, as “Dotty” for Dorothy, but persevere 
with increasing success if adults speak to them as they would to their 
equals. 

There are marked changes between two and a half and three and a half, so 
an added chart is put in this section. 

Habits which may be established by lists and score cards: 

Table manners. 

Dressing in the morning. 

Household duties, such as picking up playthings, hanging up clothes, and 
making the bed. (These should not be enforced by authority, but asked to be 
done as a help to mother or whoever must pay for his neglect. Enlist his willing 



FOOD FOR THE PERIOD OF TWO TO FOUR YEARS 
A SAMPLE DIET* 

Breakfast: 

Cereals, toast or bread, one cup of milk or more, crisp bacon or soft- 
boiled egg; sometimes prunes or apple sauce. 

Dinner: 

Potato, vegetables, meat, (about 1J4 square-inch piece), fruits; no 
milk. 

Supper: 

Cereal, at least one cup of milk, bread, simple desserts, such as 
custards or tapioca. 

A little candy of good quality does not harm, if given after meals. Fried 


‘Others can easily be made from Miss Parsons’ Food Score, given in the next section. 



















Early Childhood 


75 



foods should never be given at these ages. Tea and coffee have no place in a 
child’s diet, and, of course, rich pastries and desserts should not be given. Eggs 
should be served in small amounts, and not given every day at* first, for they 
sometimes cause hives and other skin troubles. 

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE CHILD OF TWO 

Achievements * The child of two should possess various accomplishments, 
such as the following: He— 

1 . Walks and runs steadily. 

2. Coordinates large muscular movements. 

3. Has regular physical habits. 

4. Obeys simple orders. 

5. Sits up in a chair and feeds himself correctly. 

6 . Has certain orderly habits, such as putting away toys and clothes. 

7. Makes himself understood and begins to use simple sentences. 

8 . Understands and voluntarily follows simple directions where obedience is 
not absolutely necessary; e. g., “Would you like to help me? We have to put out 
all the plates and napkins.” 

9. Responds to simple rhythms. 


*By permission of Patty Smith Hill. 
















76 


The Foundation Library 


DEVELOPMENT OF THE THREE-YEAR-OLD* 

Physical Development. The eye is not yet fully developed; although a child 
of three can focus and see small things better than a child of two, he is not in any 
way ready to work with fine things. 

He should have all his first teeth at two and a half. 

The child of three should have good coordination in running, jumping and 
leaping. Sleep and food should be much the same as that for the two-year-old. 

Activities. The two-year-old child is at the stage of sensory achievement 
and learning; at three still largely so, but not entirely. 

The child of three has a very good coordination of the larger muscular move¬ 
ments and is beginning to coordinate in some of the finer movements. 

There is a great advance over the two-year-old. Example: Where the two- 
year-old is mainly engaged in banging, dropping, knocking over, etc., the three- 
year-old will lace his shoes and button his coat. 

Intellectual. There is increasing coordination of legs, arms, eyes, hands. 
Flitting is still evident, but there is greater and greater concentration; e. g., in 
place of merely random movements concentrated play with dolls, in sand pile, 
with blocks, etc., is noted. 

Perception. This sense is becoming more and more definite. 

Curiosity. This becomes varied; the child names animals and a few mechan¬ 
ical processes, such as engines or furnace. 

Imitation. A tendency is noted towards imitation of adult action, speech 
and mode, and especially imitation of other children. 

Memory. Verbal and motor memory is good. Things are remembered for 
longer periods than in the case of the two-year-old. 

Imagination. This is vivid and concrete. 

Construction. This art has its beginning in very simple constructions. Activ¬ 
ities are still in the manipulation stage; his work is with sand, blocks, paints, clay. 

Reasoning. This power is developing rapidly; the child associates experiences. 

Language. He uses pronouns instead of names, is able to put thoughts into 
sentences, which by this time are complete. He begins to use connected sentences, 
that is, paragraphs. Experiences are related in story form. Nursery rhymes are 
clearly and voluntarily repeated without instruction. 

Social-Moral. The child plays with other children. His play is flitting, that is, 
he begins to play with one child or several children, then plays alone, then goes 
back to the same group or to another; is still largely individualistic in interests. 

There is a growing sympathy for others; e. g., he wipes away tears of another 
child; and gives toys to another child when the latter is hurt. 


•Adapted from Teachers’ Committee Report, by permission of Patty Smith Hill. 




Early Childhood 


77 


He is growing aggressive and self-assertive. 

He becomes interested in affairs of other children, but largely as they touch 
himself. 

He says, “Please“Thank you“I beg your pardon.” 

He behaves more politely at table. 

Emotional. Control of emotions grows greater in normal child. 

Bewilderment is apt to be a great feature of this age. To prevent this, great 
care must be taken in presenting material and introducing new environment. 

Special Needs of the Child From Three to Four. The three-year-old needs 
the same physical environment as the child of two, but he also needs a little more. 
He is at the beginning of the constructive stage, and is not entirely concerned 
with manipulation. Therefore, he must have constructive materials such as 
clay, paints, paper, crayons, large beads to string, pegs and more picture books. 
He also needs pets and growing plants, not only to watch, but to tend. A child 
of three is a great adventurer, and needs careful watching so that he may not 
overtax his strength or become overstimulated. 

He needs more music. The simple rhymes of marching and running gather 
fresh impetus from skipping and dancing. Appreciation of music is growing. 
The child will listen to music and require more nursery rhymes. Apparatus for 
outdoors, such as hoops, reins, skipping ropes, and smaller balls, are used. 

At the end of his third year the child is planning and executing constructive 
work that requires real ingenuity and steady concentration. 








































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The Qhildfrom Two to Four Tears 

His Needs, Habits and Interests. 

Kathleen Edwards 

W HAT DO we mean by educating the child two to four years of age? 

Education in relation to the child of this period conjures up a terrible 
picture in the minds of some. They see the infant under a course of 
instruction, not realizing that the literal meaning of the word education is leading 
or bringing up. Let us think of life as a process of continual development, or 
growth, each state of which is important in and for itself, and education as a guide 
to the fullest and best growing, and then we find that this word education may be 
used to mean our bringing up from birth. 

Years ago the priest who said that he was not afraid of the future of a 
child if he could train that child until the age of seven realized the importance 
of these early years, but he did not convince the general public. The nursery 
school movement going forward in England and America, and the work of such 
men as Dr. Gesell at Yale, are showing the significance of the pre-school years. 
























































Early Childhood 


79 


Dr. Gesell says, “The pre-school years are incomparably the period of 
most rapid and fundamental growth, both physically and mentally; * * * * 

the traits of infancy are not meaningless; they are of prognostic import. In them 
are concealed the indications of future defects and virtues.” 

How, then, may we help the child at this critical period, and how shall we 
set about it? What must be the foundation for our guidance? First of all, we 
must study the child and find out his needs and what we may expect of him. 
The findings of Dr. Gesell, Miss Harriet Johnson and all the nursery school 
workers will help, and with these as a guide we may study and provide for the 
individual child. 

We find that at this period these people stress the formation of habits as the 
basis of the child’s development. “The greater the number of good habits that 
an individual possesses in all fields—thought, feeling, conduct—the more efficient 
will he be, especially if among them is found the habit of forming new habits.” 

The greater number of acts which we perform mechanically (and the sooner 
they are so performed), the greater will be our power of going through more 
complicated processes of thought and action; for, as was once said, “Habits 
are platforms from which we step to higher things.” 

Habits may be classified under four heads: physical and personal, intellectual, 
social-moral, and emotional. 

PHYSJCAL AND PERSONAL HABITS 

Early training in regular physical habits is not only essential for the child’s 
physical health, but for his mental, social and moral growth as well. Some of 
the most essential habits along this line are the following: 

1. Regular Visits to the Toilet. It is very important that the person who 
attends to the child should be well trained. He should have as little handling as 
possible, should be allowed to handle himself very little, and although he should 
not be hurried, the whole proceeding should be carried out in a simple and 
matter-of-fact way and as expeditiously as may be. The ignorant nursemaid 
very often produces in the child too lively a curiosity about his own body. She 
may leave the child too long unattended, or she may so handle him that the 
sensations produced cause a habit of masturbation. All this may be done 
quite innocently where there is insufficient knowledge. Masturbation may be 
due to ignorant handling, but it may also be due to other causes. An active child 
who is left awake too long in bed with nothing to do will naturally turn to his 
own body for amusement, and this again frequently happens if he is too warm 
under the bedclothes. Where masturbation is a habit, all these things should 
be avoided. The child should have something to hold, if he must lie in bed. 



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and during his playtime he should be kept busy and active and carefully super¬ 
vised. Attention should not be drawn to the habit itself, and the child should 
not be punished. 

2. Washing Hands After the Toilet and Before Meals. Low bowls, an 
oilcloth or rubber apron, and an attendant with patience are the necessities for 
the toddler’s handwashing. Every child loves water, and the two-year-old will 
soon learn to wash his hands thoroughly if he be given the chance. 

3. Prosper Use of the Handkerchief, and Covering for a Sneeze or 'Cough. 
The very small child seldom uses his handkerchief properly, and at this early 
stage it is better to help him while showing him how to do it. The child who 
is left alone to wipe his nose badly, not only makes himself uncomfortable, but 
is liable to spread germs with his hands. 

Sometimes a child has a bad habit of fingering his nose. This is often due 
to lack of proper attention and the wrong way of blowing. If this be attended 
to and the habit continues, the doctor should be consulted. Here again the 
child should have plenty to do with his hands. 

4. Brushing the Teeth at Least Night and Morning. The baby at first 
should be allowed to play with his brush in the water, but gradually he will 
learn to brush his teeth quickly, correctly and with satisfaction. In beginning 
this habit, it is important that the child should not take a dislike to the process. 

5. Care of the Finger Nails. A tiny child will take great pride in keeping 
his finger nails clean. This is not difficult, if he has a small toothpick. 

Nervous children often bite their nails. They should not be left without 
something to do with their hands. Sometimes a little application of bitter aloes 
to the tips of the fingers will cure this. 

6 . Habits of Sleep and Rest. A child of two should have fifteen hours 
of sleep out of the twenty-four; at least an hour of this should be taken after 
the noon meal. The child should be put to bed where he cannot get into mis¬ 
chief, and should clearly see that he is expected to go to sleep. 

7. Eating Suitable Food at Regular Intervals. Little children have so 
much soft food and so much attention is paid to their table manners that often 
the importance and value of something to gnaw is forgotten. Gnawing some¬ 
thing hard helps the child not only to chew but to digest, for there is a better 
flow of saliva. Gnawing is good for the teeth and the jaw. It prevents over¬ 
crowding of the teeth, some dentists going so far as to say that if children 
gnawed as savages do there would be very little trouble with teeth. Be that as 
it may, it is quite easy to give the child at each meal bread baked very hard in 
the oven, or hard zwiebach. Sometimes a meat bone with very little meat on 
it may be given. 




Early Childhood 


81 


The child should not be allowed to have whims about his food. It is much 
easier to persuade a child to eat when his plate is not too full. He may be given 
more, but it is much better for a child to eat all of a small plateful than to eat 
the same amount of a large helping and leave the rest. Unless a child is sick, 
he should never be allowed to leave his food. Food that he dislikes may be 
given in very small quantities and gradually increased. If, however, in spite 
of everything a strong dislike persists, it may be watched without the child’s 
knowledge and the doctor may be consulted. Sometimes there is a good physical 
reason for a strong dislike. 

8 . Personal Habits. Among the habits of the child of the age under dis¬ 
cussion which should be given attention are the following: 

1. Putting own toys away and taking care of them. 

2. Keeping playroom and cupboards tidy. 

3. Dressing and undressing himself. 

By dressing the child in a few and simple garments, by using moderately 
large buttons instead of strings, hooks and snap fasteners, and by making as 
many garments as possible to fasten in the front, the two-year-old may begin 
to dress and undress himself. This process should be made interesting, and 
may often be helped by rhythm. The child may be given the tag of his shoe¬ 
string and lace up the shoe as the mother says, “Criss-cross, push it in, pull!” 
Sometimes the mother herself may put in the shoestring and give it to the child 
to pull through. A great deal depends upon the physical energy of the child; 
at first he may only lace up half of one shoe, gradually increasing in independence 
until he can lace both alone. 

In checking a bad habit it is very important that another bad habit should 
not become dominant. Because a child sucks his thumb or fingers, both of 
which habits should be stopped at their earliest appearance, there is no reason 
that he should be taught not to use the offending thumb or fingers in a legitimate 
way. Things that are not often used gradually become incapable of use, and a 
child who cannot easily use his thumb or fingers is going to be seriously handi¬ 
capped. Checking a bad habit should as far as possible be done by substituting 
a good habit for a bad one. The child who sucks thumb or fingers should be 
given plenty to do with his hands, and where this is not a deterrent, cuffs 
should be made. These cuffs should be about four or five inches long, reaching 
from just above the wrist to the elbow. They should be made of some 
washing material, and boned or stiffened. They should tie around the arm at 
the top and bottom. Such cuffs allow free play in almost any way, but the 
child cannot get his fingers to his mouth. During meals the right cuff should 
be removed. 



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INTELLECTUAL HABITS 

1 . Speech. Many children are left for the day or for part of the day to 

nurses or maids whose speech is neither grammatical nor musical. When the 
children speak badly, the parents are both distressed and puzzled, although 
the reason is not far to seek. Says one writer, “As a general rule, intonation, 
inflection and accent are noticed by children, and responded to earlier than 
words; it naturally follows that these are also the first elements of language 
acquired by the child.” It is therefore most important that the little child 
should, be constantly with those who speak well. Children differ greatly in their 
ways of speaking and in their command of language, and this is largely due 
to their environment. We find one child of three speaking clearly in sentences 
and another of the same age using baby talk. It is entertaining to hear the 

lisping baby talk of a child, but it is self-indulgence at the expense of the child 

to encourage it. 

Unless there is some real speech defect or physical retardation, the child 
of three should not be using baby language. From the very beginning the baby 
should be spoken to simply but in the same manner as one adult addresses an¬ 
other. Corrections should as a rule be indirect, an imperfect question or 

remark of a child being repeated by the adult correctly. When direct correction 
is necessary, it should be given in the form of a game. Many children lisp and 
use D for G. This should be corrected, even at three, by attempts to get the 
child in a playful way to repeat the word correctly. “You say that word one 
way, and I say it this way. Can you say it the big way?” If later on the trouble 
still continues, the position of lips and tongue may be brought to the child’s 
notice. At five years the child should have no difficulty, but if a difficulty still 
exists, the advice of a specialist in speech should be sought. 

Stammering. This defect is often due to ideas flowing faster than words. 
It sometimes helps to distract the child for a moment by making a remark or 
showing something that is not entirely irrelevant to the matter on hand, thus 
giving the child time to put his ideas into words. Stammerers often sing without 
any difficulty and very often early stammering can be cured by singing conver¬ 
sations to the child and having him reply in a similar way. Stammering should 
never be allowed to continue, for it grows more and more serious. One should 
not draw direct attention to a child’s stammering. It makes the habit worse. 

2. Music. Knowledge of music is too often regarded as an accomplishment 
and as one of the luxuries of life, and not as a natural expression of life itself. 
Children who sing their own little ditties to their dolls and tinkle away on a 
toy piano are frequently embarrassed by being taught songs so that they may 
perform for others. This kills what it is intended to produce again and again. 




Early Childhood 


83 


It should seem perfectly natural for the child to hear his mother sing and play 
as an everyday matter, and he should be allowed to do so himself or to listen 
without any attention being drawn to him. It should be as natural for a child 
to hear others sing and to sing himself as it is for him to play with his toys con¬ 
stantly, and just as unnatural for him to be expected to do it for “show.” In 
this way music will become a vital part of life to the child and not an embar¬ 
rassing accomplishment tacked on. Nursery rhymes sung to and by the child, 
free interpretive dancing, leading to more complex songs and dances and to 
the free wish to learn to play an instrument should be the right of every little 
child. If this were universally believed, it would not be necessary to ask the 
child to perform, for he would do it now and then as spontaneously as he plays. 

3. Nature. The unconscious influence that nature brings to bear on the 
child is pregnant with possibilities which we are unable to gage. Every child 
.should have some contact with nature; ideally, he should have access to a garden. 
Where, however, this is impossible, nature should be brought into the house in 
the form of growing plants and flowers which the child may tend himself. He 
should first familiarize himself with a growing plant, and cut flowers should 
come at a much later stage. The little child should not grow up with the idea 
that flowers are meant to be cut, put in water for a day, then thrown away. 
That gives him a wrong idea of the part nature plays in life. 

4. Play. The latest theory of play is that it is “a biological need and a 
stimulation to growth.” Through play the child reveals himself, and habits of 
play lay the foundation for habits of work and leisure. 

We may help the child to form good habits of thought and concentration 
through his play by providing the right stimuli of environment and equipment. 
The equipment of a child’s room will be discussed later; a few remarks will 
suffice here. The child should learn the habit of putting away one thing before 
playing with another, although such a thing as a finished building product may 
be left as it is. He himself should be encouraged to finish what he has begun, 
although where his attempt has been very great it may be better to help him 
in the end. Help should be given judiciously, and only where the child has 
reached a level from which he does not progress. As long as he is learning 
something from it, the child may do one thing for days, but when all new 
learning is exhausted, it is time he turned his attention to something else. 

The play of the two-year-old censists mainly of gross physical activity. He 
climbs, he drags himself along smooth surfaces, he slides, he shuts doors, he 
opens and shuts boxes again and again, takes things from the cupboard for 
the joy of putting them away, empties and fills and empties again. Provision 
should be made for these activities, and where there is sufficient provision there 



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will be less mischief. As a general rule, the sandpile follows the climbing and 
scrambling stage, and then comes play with blocks. 

The child should be able to unify his play, but this he cannot do if toys are 
presented to him as separate entities. The child can play with a doll alone, he 
can play with dishes alone, and with a doll’s bed and carriage, but how much 
more does this play mean to him and how many more possibilities does it 
suggest to him when the doll, bed and dishes are related to each other. A train 
means much more to a child when he can build a tunnel for it out of blocks; 
blocks mean much more when they present the possibilities of a tunnel for a 
train. By presenting toys in this way, we can help the child in his development 
very considerably. 

SOCIAL-MORAL HABITS 

Morality has been called “the intelligent choice by the individual of habits of 
action for the good of the group.” Moral standards differ according to the 
race, nation, town and society to which an individual belongs. It is evident, then, 
that moral habits are acquired, and a little child is neither moral nor immoral, 
but non-moral. The attitude of those who constitute his environment towards 
the expression of his instincts will determine the child’s moral standard. His 
conscience is derived wholly from the authority of the surrounding adults, and 
his moral habits are formed by the law of effect. Right is that which wins the 
approval of the elders, or which provides the satisfaction of a desire. The basis 
of morals, therefore, is the formation in the tiny child of good habits which will 
lead on to intelligent reasoning and moral choice. 

Some of the habits that may be expected are the following: 

1. Obedience. Where it is necessary that a little child should do or not do 
a thing, a simple, kindly, but firm command should be given and obedience 
insisted upon. When obedience is expected, commands, and not suggestions 
which may be disregarded, should be given. A child becomes bewildered if sug¬ 
gestions may be disregarded at one time and not at another. There should be 
consistency in requiring obedience; it should be strictly necessary and rational 
before being required. Lengthy explanations bewilder the tiny child, and are 
as a rule unnecessary. It is unfair to ask him to do or not to do a thing without 
having him comply. The answer, “But I don’t want to!” meeting with the 
reply, “Oh, very well, then I can’t make you, but I’m very sorry and disap¬ 
pointed,” has no effect on the very young child, and does not help him. He will 
certainly continue to do that “which provides the satisfaction of a desire,” and 
every time he does it the habit will become more fixed. 

Where punishment is necessary it should not be too light or too severe, and 




Early Childhood 


85 


the child should understand the reason for it. It should be given immediately 
after the offense for a child’s memory is short. To be lazily lenient to a child 
is just as much a form of self-indulgence as to punish, not calmly for the 
child’s good, but to relieve personal vexation. 

2. Self-Control. The child should be helped to recover quickly from acci¬ 
dents and disappointments, so that tears may become less and less frequent. 

He should learn not to snatch all he wants from other people, but unless real 
physical harm results the fighting instinct should not be constantly checked. 
“There is every reason to believe that this crude, often cruel, instinct has in it 
possibilities of development which make for cooperation, group spirit and moral 
fibre. Not disuse nor suppression by punishment, but graded substitutions 
leading to sublimation is the necessary treatment.” 

3. Self-Reliance and Independence. The child of two, having at first the 
responsibility for his toys, then for carrying out some activity, and then for 
more and greater responsibility, will gradually grow to a state of self-reliance 
and right independence which does not come when everything is done for him. 

4. Unselfishness. This quality is beginning to dawn by growing ability to 
take turns and to share in little things. 

5. Reverence. Reverence begins by assuming an unconscious attitude 
toward certain things induced by similar adult attitudes. It is largely a matter 
of imitation. 

6 . The Right Attitude toward Adults. The child should not feel too 
keenly the proximity of adults. He is at the individualistic stage, and should be 
allowed to develop with very little interference. At the same time, he should 
realize the rights of adults, and should never be allowed to think of them as 
simply useful persons for play and comfort. 

Children should not be left completely alone in their play away from adult 
supervision, for they realize so little the possible results of their acts. Children 
who have much play in shut-off playhouses and playrooms tend to act in one 
way when alone and in another way before adults; in this way the secretive 
spirit germinates, though it may be unconsciously. What we want to foster in 
the child is openness and confidence. If we accustom him to enjoy his play with 
our approval, we shall guard against secretiveness. Children should feel that 
they are trusted, but they should not be left entirely alone during these early 
years. 

EMOTIONAL HABITS 

The emotional life of a child is very closely connected with his health. The 
child should be accustomed to adapt his health now and then to new situations 
and to new people, so that such things may not cause undue excitement. Such 



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adaptations too often or too seldom are likely to cause bewilderment, fear, dis¬ 
trust, or a superabundance of joy, which cause much strain. 

1. Fear. In helping a child to control fear, example is very efficacious. 
Fear should never be shown in the presence of a child. A calm attitude soothes 
and helps him to control his own emotions. If in any way the object of fear 
can be made to produce satisfaction, this is also a tremendous help to the child. 
A child’s fingers in contact with the smooth, silky coat of an animal, or the 
sight of an animal playing gently with another person, will often* reassure a 
nervous child. A nervous child, however, should never be forced to contem¬ 
plate or touch the object of fear. Sometimes it needs long patience to substi¬ 
tute calmness for fright. 

A five-year-old child was terror-stricken at the thought of a thunder storm, 
because the whole family became almost hysterical. A visitor happening in the 
home during a severe storm took the child away to another room. The visitor 
said, “Oh! did you see that beautiful flash of lightning; it made things bright as 
day!” Then she wondered “who was rolling the wooden ball,” etc.; soon the little 
one became most interested in the new phase of things and forgot to be afraid. 

2. Anger. Opportunities for anger should be avoided whenever possible, 
but when it does occur it may be controlled by working off the energy through 
some violent exercise, a quick diversion, or a laugh-provoking joke. 

In training good habits, we must remember that by the law of effect, learn¬ 
ing, to be permanent, must be attended by satisfaction. It is of no use to coerce 
the child into good habits; we must make them appeal to him. This means, also, 
that we must not expect too much of the child at once; we must not allow him 
to use up “the last ounce of energy.” 

This early training in good habits requires so much patience and waiting for 
the slow movements of the child that the busy mother may feel it impossible to 
give it. In such a case, the child may be allowed to try perhaps once a day 
until he is able to do more for himself. 

Constant supervision is also a problem to the mother who does not depend 
on a nurse, but if the children play in a room opening into that in which she 
is working, or in a yard overlooked by a window or door of the workroom, it 
should be possible to watch the children. 

The intelligent mother generally finds a way of providing the best that is 
possible for her child. 

THE EQUIPMENT OF NURSERY AND YARD 

The first essentials for providing for the activities of the young child are 
plenty of space for the free play of the large muscular movements, plenty of 



Early Childhood 


87 


fresh air and plenty of sunshine. This is not always easy to furnish under the 
conditions of our modern civilization, but those who really care for their chil¬ 
dren’s welfare will give them the largest, airiest and sunniest room in the house 
as a nursery. Every child should spend a great part of his time out-of-doors, 
and a safe yard is the most ideal thing for him. 

In making these suggestions for nursery and yard equipment, the ideal is 
considered, but here and there substitutes have been suggested to meet the 
needs of those who cannot plan for the ideal. 

Many mothers feel that they cannot supply all these needs of the child, and 
yet they wish their children to have the best. The ideal nursery school offers 
these things, and in addition, something which even the best home can very 
seldom give the child—daily companionship of equals. The nursery school 
seeks to cooperate with the home, to draw the mother and child closer together, 
by helping both. It plans, first and foremost, for the child himself and at the 
same time helps the busy mother. A parent can visit the nursery school at any 
time, for that is a part of its plan. It is good for the mother and the child to 
have a part of each day away from one another. They are more aware of each 
other and more able to give entire attention to each other when they come to¬ 
gether again. 

For the sake of the child as he is now and as he will be, the ideal nursery 
school is the place to send him, but as in everything else, all so-called nursery 
schools are not ideal. The mother must be sure that the school is giving more than 
she can give unaided, before she trusts her child to it. 

THE INDOOR NURSERY 

Small slide, or small step ladder with firm top and wide, smooth board fixed up 
for sliding. 

Kiddy car. 

Balance-beam. 

Packing box (large). 

Work bench, nails, hammer and wood. 

Wagon (large). 

Covered boxes. 

Empty spools and strong twine for stringing spools. 

Small tables and chairs. 

Chest of large blocks. 

Strong nested boxes. 

Low wall blackboard, or painted linoleum. 

Small cupboards and shelves for toys and books, Or orange boxes fitted up. 

















The Foundation Library 


Easel for painting. 

Large paint brushes and water color paints; crayons. 

Small dishes for palettes; bogus paper. 

Clay. 

Large football and smaller balls. 

Piano. 

Toy piano. 

Growing plants and watering can. 

Dolls, preferably Chase dolls or Schoenhut dolls. 

Doll’s bedstead (large, strong) ; bedclothes. 

Dishes and other housekeeping things. 

Ironing apparatus. 

Washtub and small, light pitchers and buckets. 

Small mop, broom, dustpan, dusters. 

A few good pictures, hung low. 

Mother Goose book, with pictures, and other good picture books. 



Slide. 

See-saw plank. 
Balance beam. 

Low swing. 

Packing box (large). 
Large yard blocks. 
Trains. 

Wooden horse. 

Kiddy car. 

Large wagon. 

Sand box. 


YARD 

Pails. 

Spoons. 

Trowels. 

Shovels. 

Small dishes and cups. 

Broom (for sweeping up sand). 

A football or basketball; small balls. 
Manual bench, hammer, nails, stout 
lumber. 

Growing plants. 

Pets: Dog, doves, rabbits. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


A Nursery School Experiment: 

Nursery School Education: 
Psychology of Childhood: 

The Pre-School Child: 

Understood Betsy: 

Mother and Children: 


Harriet Johnson, Bureau of Educational Ex¬ 
periments, New York. 

Grace Owen, Dutton & Company, New York. 

Norsworthy & Whitley, Macmillan & Com¬ 
pany. 

Mrs. Max West, Children’s Bureau, Wash¬ 
ington, D. C. 

D. Canfield Fisher. 

D. Canfield Fisher. 








Early Childhood 


89 


His Social Ffeeds from Two to Four Years 

Minne;tta S. Leonard 


A S stated before, this is the time when the child is 
discovering himself as not only a separate body, 
but a real person with desires and a will to get 
them. Now come frequent clashes with various members 
of the family, and usually the mother, whose will most 
often crosses his in the enforcement of rules. 

He needs to meet more people. His tentacles are out to 
take in all he can of new expressions, of people, their lan¬ 
guage, and their actions. He is most individual and self- 
assertive and often quarrels with all about him, especially 
with other children. It is his method of finding himself, 
and he needs people, especially children who hit back and resent his unsocial acts, 
to set himself over against, also to stimulate him to acts he wouldn’t think of per¬ 
haps alone and to urge him further in the activities he has already attempted. 

The nursery school Miss Edwards refers to elsewhere is one place where 
these contacts occur. Such a school has the advantage over the home in that 
it is an ideal environment for the child, with proper equipment, plenty of space, 
and in charge of persons especially trained in the needs of the child at this age, 
whose sole business is to look after him. 

*Until these schools come within the reach of every one it is quite possible 
for several mothers in a neighborhood to plan to take turns in caring for all 
the children for a few hours each day. If one large room is available, they may 
each contribute articles and toys for all to use in this room or on a playground. 
The children themselves will benefit by the contact, and each mother, except the 
one in charge, by having a time free from her child’s care to finish bits of work, 
get a little time for quiet reading or meditation and by this relief to overtired 
nerves be ready to take up the care of her child again with better control. Each 
mother will also be helped through opportunity to compare her child with 
others of his age. 

But frequently, because of lack of opportunity or prevalence of disease or 
peculiarities of the particular child, these wider social contacts through the 
ideal nursery or playground must be postponed until the age of four and after. 
If for the sake of better health and poise we are to keep the child in so nar¬ 
row a group as the family and a few friends, we must see to it that he gets the 



*One group of mothers of my acquaintance live in an apartment house. They take turns in preparing 
the noon meal for all the children under seven and either serving them together or sending them into the 
various apartments. This is a great saving of each mother’s time, as their family dinners are served at 
night. 













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most of real benefit from this group. If we deprive him of the chance to learn 
“yours” and “mine” from playmates, his parents must be sure that they react 
to him in the home in such a way that he learns it. “No, no, that is father’s 
desk. You play with this—this is all yours.” if he disregards, he must pay 
some penalty. He must learn that there are certain rights of mothers, fathers, 
brothers and sisters which, baby that he is, he must regard. Big brothers and 
sisters must not be made to give up their rights to stop his crying, whining of 
teasing—at least so that he knows of it. 

You have many times heard quarrels settled in such manner as this: John 
squeals. His older brother so often teases that mother, without looking into 
the cause, calls out, “Henry, what are you doing to John? Whatever it is, stop 
this minute!” Henry is hurt at the injustice. John being as bright as other 
babies, has found out that mother sides with him and that squealing pays. He’ll 
continue to use this method until he tries it once upon another child, who, no 
respector of persons, deals swift justice. John’s little world tumbles about him, 
and his soul is grieved over his wrongs. An investigation of the cause would 
have been justice to each child, and a quiet explanation to John would have 
helped him to meet the next difficulty as he should. 

His elders owe this much to him—that the adjustments they attempt in the 
family are similar to those made in the world outside the home. This will show 
what is meant. Ralph repeatedly slapped his mother painfully in a play which 
was too rough. After trying to change his play, his mother finally took his 
hand and slapped it hard enough to hurt. She smiled when she said, “How do 
you like it?” Ralph looked at her first in amazement, then threw his arms 
around her and said, “I’m sorry.” His companions would have responded 
in the same way, but with vengeance written on the face. Ralph in that case 
would not have said, “I’m sorry,” but would have defended himself lustily. A 
real quarrel, with injured feelings, would have resulted.* 

Again the presence of the baby in the home is the mother’s opportunity for 
helping older brothers and sisters to understand fundamentals of child training. 
A true understanding will not only save the baby of the family from “spoiling” 
but make the relations between the older children and the parents closer because 
based on sympathy and justice for all. We too often know the hurt of the child 
next to the baby. Every child should receive his own share of attention and 
find himself as a real individual in the family group, without over-emphasis 
because of being the baby or not being well. Habits of thought about one’s 
place in the home will persist always. He cannot too early begin to find himself 
socially. 


*A story related in Spontaneous and Supervised Play, by Alice Corbin Sies. 





Early Childhood 


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His ^lays 

T HE play of the two-year-old is beginning to take various forms. Under 
“The Child’s Gymnasium” are suggested plays developing bodily control and 
skill. Under the general subject of handwork are discussed his “making” 
plays. Another very important type of plays which will at this period occupy more 
of his time than any other one, perhaps, is the imitative, or representative, plays. 
He plays perhaps a whole day that he is a puppy and wishes to be fed, stroked 
and talked to as a puppy. He is getting all possible experiences of puppies. 
Another day he is father going down town, the butcher, the baker, the ragman, 
mother doing all sorts of housework, the piano tuner who just left the house, 
the plumber who repaired the faucets, the painter, using a hat brush and a box 
cover for a paint pail—all the people or animals, even things like automobiles 
and engines, which come in his way. Mothers may help to get all possible good 
from these plays by entering heartily into them. The play relations are very 
sweet indeed, and things the mother teaches through play are kindly received 
by the child. 

Read the article on “How Children Teach Themselves,” in this volume, for 
a fuller discussion of the values and development through play. 

His experimental plays leading to a knowledge of the laws of things, science, 
etc., are not listed. 

Playthings listed in Miss Young’s article in this volume give him opportuni¬ 
ties for such experiment. 

































































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$?&»eesseeeese£seeeeese&se&ee&sss&ses&&sesessss&3eeseses&s&® 

zJ&ontessori in the Home. 

T HE Montessori Schools are of much value* to the child at this age, 
although they are not as valuable as the Nursery School (not to be 
confused with the Day Nursery). Montessori, however, has con¬ 
tributed a great deal to our elementary and kindergarten schools, and 
mothers will do well to base home work upon three Montessori principles. 

Montessori first makes much of the necessity of freedom for the child 
to work out his own problems. She emphasizes non-interference. Sec¬ 
ondly, she makes much of sense education and has materials which train 
eye, ear and touch. The third important principle she stands for is the 
development of coordinations which give bodily control in dressing, setting 
the table, carrying liquids, walking on a line and others. She has an elabo¬ 
rate set of materials for the use of the very young child. However, some 
home made substitutes are even better than hers, because they are a part 
of the child’s life and he uses them in ordinary activities. The following 
pictures will illustrate our meaning. 





& 


Lacing Tying 

TO GIVE CONTROL IN DRESSING AND SELF HELP. 






























Early Childhood 


93 



The rag doll is beloved of 
all others, and serves many 
purposes. 


Tying Bows Fastening Garters 


A rag doll, size of one- or two-year-old child, which can wear all his 
clothing. The Butterick pattern books show one. A clever mother can 
make a large Raggedy Ann or a Black Sambo from old stockings., 





















































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m»sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss^s\ 























































































































































































































Early Childhood 


95 


msssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssm 

















































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^SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSi^ 

MONTESSORI INSETS FOR SENSE TRAINING. 



Home-made insets may be made of cork with collar button handles glued 
on, to be fitted into board or pasteboard holes. 


SENSE TRAINING. 

Color Training. Montessori uses many cards wound with silk which 
are to be arranged in color scales. From Thomas Charles or Milton Brad¬ 
ley, or the Prang Company excellent colored papers may be had. These 
wrapped around cards used for card files and pasted may be used in the 
same way for the baby. Do not try to get him to use the color names. The 
consciousness is what we are after—later the names will come. To ask 
too early for these will only confuse him. For naming colors later use 
only the six pure colors, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. 
Shades in between are often confusing. 

For ear training Montessori has six sealed cylindrical boxes filled with 
various materials, each making a different sound. The home can substi¬ 
tute baking powder cans or boxes, sealed so baby cannot use them as 
receptacles for materials of any kind, and filled with salt, sand, beans, a 
few marbles, nails, flour or rice. 

The child can also listen to tones played on the piano—very high, 
very low: intervals 1-6 going up; 6-1 going down, etc. 

Have him shut his eyes and guess whether with the scissors or a spoon 
you hit a glass, wood, tin, etc. 
















































Early Childhood 


97 


%>sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss$sssssssssssssssssssssssm 

TO DEVELOP THE SENSE OF TOUCH. 

He can feel silk, wool, velvet, fur, or various other objects held be¬ 
hind him. 

All of these must be games the child enjoys and chooses. Just knowl¬ 
edge for the sake of knowledge is of little value. But if children play 
these turn and turn about they are often enjoyed. 

Montessori methods and home methods for developing muscular co¬ 
ordination through household activities may be the same. The child 
should be encouraged to carry liquids without spilling and dishes on a 
tray, to walk on a line, and to perform various other similar activities. 



AN EXERCISE WHICH DEVELOPS 
MUSCULAR COORDINATION. 








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Basis of Selection of Qhildren s Toys 

Elizabeth D. Young 

S TANDARDIZATION is surely the word of the hour; not even children’s 
playthings may escape. However much we regard toys as a pre-supposition 
of childhood, now that everything connected with children and their interests 
has taken on a new seriousness, playthings may no longer be selected carelessly by 
parents. 

In such a study as the present, one may ask to begin with, Why have toys 
at all ? Do they actually fulfill a need of childhood, or are they something which 
social habit has sanctioned and which tradition passes on—incidentally a gratifica¬ 
tion for the adult to buy. The question is pertinent, for the place and function 
of toys is often misunderstood or abused. The routine of custom has us all by 
the throat, so that the meaning underlying the custom may be entirely overlooked. 
Without doubt the plaything wisely chosen is an asset to childhood. On the other 
hand, indiscriminate buying will prove bane rather than blessing. Just playthings 
carry no value in themselves; the test of their usefulness will lie in their selection. 

Before any principles of selection in choosing a plaything can be applied, 
the first essential to be considered is the nature of the child and his fundamental 
impulses and instincts. If one may be forgiven the trite remark, it is the child 
who is the one who is going to use the toy, and he is the one for whose satisfac¬ 
tion the toy is bought. Therefore a knowledge of his makeup is essential. In a 
sketch such as this no attempt can be made to outline what any psychological 
study will furnish—a description of the original equipment of impulses and instincts 




































Early Childhood 


99 


with which human beings start life. Every library bookshelf is provided with 
such material, and everyone having to do with young children will want to make 
some such study, no matter how intimately she knows her own child or group of 
children. She must see the thing generalized. On the basis of what such a study 
yields of the characteristics of childhood, one may well suggest for the selection 
of children’s toys some such standards as these which follow. 

Let the plaything be durable; this is a prime necessity. The toy must be 
made to stand hard wear, the most solid, best-made thing of its kind to be had 
in the market. Better buy nothing than to buy a flimsy, poorly-constructed article 
which goes to pieces the first time it is used. Think of the disappointment, and 
the annoyance, too, when a wheel comes off and the wagon tips over and goes 
along lop-sided, probably spilling out precious contents along the way. The doll 
whose legs and arms are so loosely put together that pulling them out is almost 
suggested is a poor kind of toy. Broken bits of nursery toys on every hand bear 
evidence of the mauling which has proved too much for the average plaything, 
and suggest to the wise that we buy better. 

The corollary to this is the second standard, that the toy be simple, crude, 
not elaborate or complex. The ingenuity of the toy-maker delights in producing 
the finished and perfect product, but the child, not the toy-maker, is the one to 
be suited. His needs are for simple articles which offer scope to his manipulating 
impulse—free to construct and to .tear down to his heart’s content, without injur¬ 
ing his playthings. Wooden blocks of all shapes and kinds, both larger and 
smaller, boxes and boards for outdoor play, materials to put together and build 
up and roof over, which may become the nucleus of interesting play in a thousand 
different directions—from the experimentation that builds up for the fun of top¬ 
pling over to the steadily carried out plan of a house big enough to crawl into, or 
at least to tuck a doll into. 

There is also need for plastic, crude materials which yield easily to a child’s 
experimentation in other ways—paper and crayons and a blackboard, dull scis¬ 
sors and paste. Puddles, mud pies and a sandy beach have never failed to at¬ 
tract; so where a substitute is called for put in a jar of clay and a deep box of 
sand with some patty pans. Things to string on a cord or necklace, buttons, beads 
and fancy shapes of all kinds, things to finger and sort over, shapes to put to¬ 
gether and pull apart. Some of the enlarged material of both kindergarten and 
Montessori schools make excellent home playthings, but less expensive articles 
serve the purpose equally well. Avoid the lure of the complex toy—the baby 
house complete and finished down to the lamp on the table and the curtains in the 
window, leaving nothing for a child to do but to stand and admire and disturb as 
little as*possible. How much better a box or a set of boxes to make your own 



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baby house, with every chance for painting and scrubbing and furnishing, and all 
at small cost. In general, avoid the mechanical toy, that expensive and fascinat¬ 
ing toy which the adult delights to wind up and set going for a child to enjoy. 
But the child clamors for it himself. He wants it in his own hands and wants to 
work it himself—which generally puts an end to the toy. To be sure, there are 
friction trains and singing tops which are admirable exceptions to this rule, but 
in general the mechanical toy offers no lasting satisfaction. Raw materials that 
are easily modified serve a child better. 

While I have already spoken indirectly of physical activity, I want to state 
more specifically that the degree to which the toy induces physical movement is 
another standard of selection. While no little child can be incessantly on the go, 
his waking hours are spent in the main in doing things—moving about from place 
to place. The impulse to physical movement is as strong an impulse as he knows; 
so let there be toys which fit into it. Balls, wagons, carts, things to pull about, 
trains, hoops—for outdoors, low swings, small slides, see-saws, simple apparatus 
that will feed the strong impulse to move about. Impracticable suggestions these, 
the objector will say, in the face of the modern city apartment, with neighbors 
above and below, and no place outdoors to turn to. Perhaps the city flat is not 
desirable for childhood. Modify as you Inust, I would hope for better things. 

In this connection, a word is in order on the fact that little children enjoy 
weight in their playthings. While small objects undoubtedly have their charm 
and a child will laboriously pick up pins and any small shiny objects from the 
floor, yet it is not to be denied that little children like to feel weight in the things 
they busy themselves with. Objects that have to be tugged and pulled into place 
have a real charm. Who has not seen a child dragging something about so much 
too big for him that it immediately sends the interested adult w*ho does not under¬ 
stand to help and interfere. All psychologists agree on the need of developing 
the larger muscles first in the early years of life. Therefore, let us follow the 
child’s own clue and give him playthings sufficiently large and bulky. The rag 
doll, heavy enough to feel as she carries her about, is much the better plaything; 
as she grows bigger perhaps she may dress her in the very clothes that baby 
sister wore—her shoes, too. She may do some interesting Montessori work on 
her own account with your improvised material, buttoning her up and lacing her 
shoes. 

Another large consideration in the selection of playthings is the fact of 
children’s efforts to participate in the life about them. They do this with dra¬ 
matic play, using whatever objects are handy, and they also do it actually, when¬ 
ever they get the opportunity. This latter tendency t-he adult often blocks because 
it tends to be a nuisance. In dramatic play a little girl will set her table with her 




Early Childhood 


101 


dishes and play at drinking tea, with her dolls set up around her for company. 
Gravely the meal proceeds. “More tea?” “No—but cake, please.” Again she 
will get in the kitchen, if she has the chance, and likes nothing better than to 
share in what’s happening; buttering a tin, cutting out a cookie—perhaps butter¬ 
ing her own small cake-tin, dropping in a lump of dough and baking her own 
small cake. Housekeeping toys, dolls, cradles, dishes, washing, ironing and 
cooking outfits, in simple solid shape are all desirable. 

Experience tells us that there is no gauging what may be best liked in the 
way of a doll. The battered, homely Dinah will be loved and petted, while the 
Paris beauty with her flaxen curls lies face down on the floor.. Tracks and trains 
and stations are another series of toys that should be mentioned in this connec¬ 
tion. Add tools and a garden outfit of the best-made tools available in small size. 
Animals of all kinds—those blessed with joints to stand up when desired, the 
historic Noah’s Ark of a generation ago, and the soft, woolly sheep to take to bed 
at night for company—such are very desirable nursery folk. On the whole, there 
is little differentiation to be made on the basis of sex in young children’s toys, 
yet nobody plans to give a little girl trains, although her brother may cherish a 
baby doll if no one laughs him out of it. Later, aptitudes become more marked. 

The danger of urging too many toys is upon me in making this study on 
selection. Far better too few than too many. It is because a child is and must 
be eternally busy, and generally busy at something, that we provide him with 
toys. His business is generally with things. If he has the good fortune to grow 
up in simple, outdoor surroundings where the abounding possibilities of sticks, 
stones and Mother Nature are at his disposal, with a child or two for company, 
a yard with interesting features to explore and use, then playthings may well be 
reduced to a minimum. But life in the house is less suggestive of playthings. The 
environment is not malleable. Indeed, grown folks do not intend that it shall be. 
Chairs and tables and beds are objects intended to sit on and to sit at, and to lie 
upon—not possible trains, cars, and resilient jumping places. It is only a chance 
when the furniture may be appropriated. The baby cannot be patted and poked 
and dragged about and made to do this and that, nor can the kitten or the dog be 
mauled as you could wish; things in general are not pliant to your impulse— 
therefore the explanation of playthings. Wisely selected, the plaything is an avenue 
for activity to expend and express itself upon. The child should find in it satis¬ 
faction and that deep contentment of soul which marks the little child’s mood 
when happily busy at play. 













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®&eseesses2seseesseesssseees3ss3sees3sse&seee&sesesseses3e<® 


The Child's Gymnasium 

From 2 to 4 Years 



The child has gotten the big muscles to work for him, but they are 
far from under control. Almost endless repetition of these plays will 
give him a real control and ease in the use of his whole body. 











































































Early Childhood 


103 








































































104 


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Early Childhood 


105 



How Making Comes from Playing 

Minnetta S. Leonard 

T HE baby has had all sorts of playthings, some of which could never be used 
for creative purposes and others which have these possibilities. He scrib¬ 
bles on paper for the mere joy in it. Suddenly, sometime, his imagination 
sees a “kittie” in the marks he has made. The joy he gets from having made 
something leads him to try it again. With his blocks shoving along on the floor 
he discovers a train. His idea of a train begins to work, and besides making it 
seem more like a train by his “choo-choo’s” and “ding-ding’s” he sets up a block 
for the smoke to come out, or sets on a call bell for an engine bell. Perhaps he 
loads on various blocks for people, or his “teddy” and dolls. He is beginning to 
realize the joy of creation. One little girl when she was not quite two knew no 
greater triumph than “See baba do it self.” 

The baby’s plays now will take several forms: 

1. Experimental plays will continue developing his senses and giving him a 
knowledge of materials which will assure his control in their use later. 

2. His imaginative and imitative interests will develop into representative 
plays, and later, where they follow a definite plot, into dramatic plays. He loves 
now to sweep, dust, telephone, stride “big” like father, trying by these acts to 
get at the experiences of the people about him who do these things. And now 
he is Peter Rabbit, squeezing under Mr. McGreggor’s gate, or Baby Bear, living 
through the whole story of the Three Bears. 

3. He has his “stunt” plays, through which he learns to go up and down 
stairs “right foot, left foot,” to skip, run, hop, walk a plank, and many others. 
This gives him bodily control and development. 

4. Out of his aimless experiment plays comes now the beginning of a new 
























































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set of plays—constructive or “making” plays. These are of two kinds: (1) 
Making pictures which much later develop into various forms of fine art; and 
(2) making articles for practical use and beauty or the manual arts. 

He has found around the age of two that he is a force which can make 
things happen. By his will a block house tumbles over, a clay ball becomes flat, a 
piece of paper is transformed into bits. During these periods from two to three 
he should find out that he is also a creative force, that in addition to power to 
change things he has power to create things. Now will develop a set of plays 
which we will call ‘“constructive” handwork, block building, and so on. These 
constitute the subject of this article. 

That form of imagination which can picture a costume, a machine, a finished 
piece of cabinet work, an artistic show window, is dawning at this period. Ideas 
in adults which can get themselves expressed by use of materials are beginning 
now to dawn in the child. The efficient house decorator has to have certain skills. 
He must have well-formed ideas of the principles underlying color combinations, 
space relations, effect of line; he has to exercise judgment in adapting these to the 
particular problem. He must know the qualities of materials, their cost and 
durability, and a number of facts based on study and experience. The same 
mental processes of forming an ideal, judging and testing the materials to be used 
and the ways of using them, of selecting from these with the ability to use them 
to execute the idea may be involved in making a pasteboard basket to be used 
by the child to meet some purpose. By these attempts he begins to form a judg¬ 
ment of his success in the same way that the decorator’s judgment is formed. A 
failure which spills all the contents of his basket over the floor leads to an ex¬ 
amination of causes and another attempt to succeed. All these thinking processes 
are beginning to develop and should be exercised now if they are to persist and 
give the character development of which they are capable. Handwork (including 
building) is the only material which the child is able at this age to use to express 
his ideas, hence it is very important for him now. If he develops an ability to 
make desirable things with his hands he may have gained a source of pleasure 
for leisure hours in after years. 

These wholesome occupations for idle hours may save him from the many temp¬ 
tations of the adolescent age. Boys and girls full of schemes they are working 
out have little time to follow the evil suggestions of their more idle friends. 
But even if the child turned later from pleasure in these manual activities to joys 
in other lines, the development of mind and character he receives now is of lasting 
value. This makes it imperative that the parent or guardian help him to get the 
most from his plays in the years under six. To establish the habit of self-employ¬ 
ment and “busyness,” with a sense of self as a “person who can do,” is a real 



Early Childhood 


107 


achievement. And if it develops that the natural inheritance of the child is such 
as to unfit him for great intellectual achievements, he at least is fitted to play a 
valuable part in life because he can contribute good work and happiness. He will 
be able to carry himself through life. 

WHAT HAVE PARENTS TO DO WITH THIS? 

The parent is not to turn over these pages, select an interesting thing to 
make, then show the child how to make it, or when he brings home a new toy 
immediately demonstrate its use. These methods are sure ways to kill childish 
independence. The long process of thinking, experimenting, trial and failure 
or success which is the value of the work has been done for the child. He has 
been robbed of his chance. This is why it may be possible that in the hands of 
some parents harm may come from such a set of books as this, which give so much 
suggestion to mothers that through misuse they may prove a means of smothering 
the child and making him dependent and helpless. It is to guard against this that 
every effort has been made to give the underlying principles; to help th£ wise 
parent to build well by using these pictures and charts only as sources of help 
(1) for the child when he needs it and appeals to the parent, and (2) for the 
parent to show him possible lines which the child’s activities may follow. It 
will be a mistake to select any forms with the purpose of showing the child how 
to make them until the parent has thought the matter over and selects intelligently. 
These are a parent’s duties: 

1. To surround the child with plenty of the right material. 

2. To keep “hands off” most of the time, allowing the child’s experiments 
and ideas to control the use of material and devices. 

3. Then when the baby is close upon something of value and doesn’t recog¬ 
nize it, the parent may help him to do so. For example*: Betty cut the form of a 
girl’s head from a colored card and brought it to her mother. There was little 
attempt to cut on the line. Betty was two and a half years old. Had she been 
four and a half, her mother would have discouraged such careless cutting. For 
a child of two and a half years struggling with the rudiments of scissors control 
the work was good. Mother said, “Wouldn’t that make a nice dolly if she only 
had legs and arms?” Betty disappeared awhile and returned later with, “See 
dolly has a stummit.” She displayed papers of all lengths fastened to suggest 
arms, body and legs. Her invention won praise and encouragement. A family 
of spidery dolls appeared with crude heads cut from white paper. “Dolls should 
be dressed,” her mother commented. This led to an attempt at dressing. The 
attempt was not successful, but the idea stayed, and a few weeks later produced 


•Author’s Unpublished Records. 




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a dress as crude as the dolls. The mother must always see possibilities and offer 
suggestions; she must rarely show how. 

4. Sometimes, after the child has become fairly well acquainted with the 
material, the time comes when the parent should show how, in order to open 
up new possibilities for the child. The baby loves to have mother or father sit 
down and “show how.” Often this is the best done by showing the result, a 
house of blocks ready built to give the baby the idea. Then the house may be 
taken down, and block by block, baby imitating with his blocks, block by block, 
may learn to make one just like “daddy’s.” To learn to imitate is a real problem 
and requires much patience and simple directions from the parent. 

Again after the little one has learned to use his blocks well, a reward for a 
nap or a surprise in the morning may be a house, wagon or train, all built, which 
baby will want to copy. Imitating the finished result when the process is unseen 
is a harder task, requiring a great deal from the baby. 

5. The parent is also needed to help the child test the results of his work. 
Perhaps the basket he has made is not as good as he is able to make; perhaps 
its comers are not pasted straight or securely. To find fault or criticize may 
discourage further attempt. An effort to carry a cookie or cracker in it for a 
play picnic may reveal its faults without a mother’s comment. A bed out of due 
proportions may be much improved when the child discovers that dolly’s feet 
stick out. The use of the object for the child is his natural test, and this should 
be the standard by which he judges. Later beauty will be added to utility. 
Beauty will call for neatness and, eventually, decoration. 

6. Supply him with toy dogs which need houses, a doll which must have a 



































































Early Childhood 


109 


table, chairs or bed; a lion that must be caged, a horse which must live in a barn 
and be fenced in a pasture; pictured cans of fruits, bread, apples, paper milk 
bottles which must be delivered in wagons, and so on. These lead to other 
activities in his attempts to represent the activities of real life.* 

7. Keep him from discouragement, and encourage persistence. Frank 
frequently worked at things, but gave up too easily. One day he had worked to 
build a bridge and had nearly succeeded when the whole thing tumbled over and 
he was ready to give up. 

“Dear me, what an accident. Anybody hurt?” 

“Yes, a woman got hurt.” 

“Well, you’d better send for an ambulance and get a doctor.” 

The new idea struck. He hurriedly turned his blocks into a wagon, made a 
paper doll to place inside, and a doctor. One thing suggested another until he 
had found how to make the doctor’s case equipped with bandages and a bed in 
which to put the patient. 

“Now send for the wrecking crew and repair the bridge.” 

This was done; the bridge was successfully rebuilt and Frank went to lunch 
glowing with pride in his achievements. 


METHODS THE CHILD WILL USE 


1. Always at first he will simply experiment. Paper and pencil means 
scribbling; paper alone, tearing; scissors, snipping and cutting. Blocks will 
call for piling up and knocking over; clay, punching, poking, squeezing, pinching 
off into bits and patting; paints, daubing, streaking and scrubbing. 

2. Accidentally he stumbles upon an idea which leads to something he can 
make. These destructive activities will be turned into constructive ones. To 

*A paper or pasteboard horse cut to stand up may always be had at no cost. Pictures for this pur¬ 
pose are put in Poster Supplement for tracing. 







































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help him find a play use for what he makes will strengthen his attempt to 
construct. 

3. Now he begins to look about him to get ideas of things to make and 
ways to make them. He will copy methods others employ in doing things, and 
try to copy models he sees in store windows, also pictures from books, and so on. 

4. Then he thinks of things to make without models to copy. He invents 
a box, a medicine case or a pocket book he needs for play, and sets about the 
manufacture of one. 

CAUTIONS 

Reference has been made to the deadening effects of parents doing too soon 
what the child might find out for himself. In addition, here are other cautions: 

1. Do not give him dangerous things to play with, such as sharp-pointed 
needles, scissors with sharp points; beads that are too small to string without 
strain to the eye; sewing cards which demand too exact coordination between eye 
and hand. 

2. Do not encourage things beyond his power to execute; it leads to dis¬ 
couragement or fatigue and nerve strain. 

DRAWING 

Drawing, as we have said, starts with scribbling. It will be far better for 
parent and child that his scribbling is done on paper and not on walls and books. 
See that he has an unlimited supply of paper, always accessible. Wrapping paper, 
cast-off writing papers, the manila slips from the shredded-wheat boxes, news¬ 
papers and, of course, a blackboard and crayons. When he can get at these things, 
see to it that every scribbling offense on walls or elsewhere is punished. This 
interest must have a legitimate outlet. 

Scribbling as a means of developing drawing activities may also be employed 
for the arm-and-hand movement necessary for beginning writing. Both for draw¬ 
ing and penmanship scribbling has its uses in the early stage. 

MATERIALS 

1. Large manila sheets, often hung up on the wall, secured by thumb tacks 
or spread out on the floor or table. Large marking crayons. 

2. Oblongs of paper at least 12"xl0", used on table or floor with large 
crayons. 

3. Blackboard and chalk. 

4. The manila slips which come in shredded-wheat boxes. 

Children love to have stories told to them as parents draw the pictures. This 
is fine amusement, provided one of two things doesn’t happen: 



Early Childhood 


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(a) That the picture suggests only one way of drawing a man, and so binds 
the child to copying this way only. 

(b) That the perfection of the picture is not such as will discourage effort on 
the child’s part to draw his own pictures of the same idea. 

It is wise to urge him to tell you picture stories and show real interest irij 
his attempts, getting him to explain what he has tried to tell by his drawing. 

CUTTING 

Cutting starts in the same way as drawing. It is really a difficult thing for the 
child to gain control of scissors. There must be an effort on the part of the parent 
to turn what is naturally destructive activity into productive; this suggests the 
use of the baby’s snips and bits for various purposes. Do not encourage line 
cutting at first. When control of the scissors suggests that the baby is ready 
for line cutting, use only wide, straight lines, such as cutting straight paper 
strips for chains and large pictures for the scrap book, with straight edges. 
Cutting on curved lines is quite difficult, and comes much later. 

Uses for Snips and Strips. A child may cut a plate of snips to use for 
feathers to be stuffed in a salt bag for a doll pillow or mattress. Make lots of 
“snow” to shower down on a big sheet, or to be used again and again for a' 
“snow storm.” Such bits of paper may also be used for food to go in dishes 
for dollies’ dinner party. 

Strips can be used for paper chains. Pasted upon a broader piece of paper 
for body and another for head, they serve for an animal or for a doll’s legs! 
Often they may be used for picture frames or window frames in the scrap book, 
adding to practice in cutting that of pasting. 

Free Cutting. Whenever an accidental form resembles a shape praise it 
and encourage the child to cut another. This will encourage free cutting. He 
stumbles on a form that he names a shoe, a ball, an apple. Suggest his making 
a mate for the shoe, more apples and another ball. Ask him to use his crayon 
and paper to make a large piece of red paper to cut his apples from; some purple, 
for his plums; orange, for oranges; and yellow for a banana. The changed 
shape from round fruits to a long banana adds skill in noticing form and in 
cutting it. 

SCRAP BOOKS 

Book-making begins now, and may be made to develop through years to come 
into a real art. The first books are made from cambric or large wrapping paper 
fastened together by machine stitching or the mother’s hand sewing. Books 
serve an endless number of purposes. There are books for pictures and post cards, 






























































































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later for pictures telling the story of bread, foods, coal, milk, Easter, Thanks-' 
giving, and the long chain of story picture books; for stamp collections, kodak 
pictures, blue prints of leaves and flowers; books to hold the child’s stories he 
first dictates, then writes himself; his little poems and books which are called 
house books work out principles of house decoration and furnishing. 

The Child’s Problems. The problems of the first books are merely those of 
pleasant arrangement and neat pasting. Gradually the child becomes interested 
in folding papers himself to make his books, bringing to notice the difficulties 
of good edges and secure fastenings. Then come cover designs, and last of all, 
the complicated science of artistic decoration and binding, which may involve 
all sorts of real art. There are so many uses for books that this activity may 
be encouraged often enough to bring the whole development in the course of 
time to any one child. 


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Two cover designs made by stick printing described later. 

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BLOCKS 

Very large, or floor, blocks are better than small ones to give the little child, 
for the following reasons: 

1. They are large enough to require two hands in placing, hence the large 
muscles are brought into action. 

2. They stay “put.” 

3. They require the child to get up and down on the floor; thus he exercises 
other than arm muscles. 

4 . They are good for making forms big enough for other toys to go in, 
even for the child himself sometimes to use. Ideal blocks,are large enough to 
make a chair, a bed, a table, or steps for the child to climb. Real use encourages 
building. 

























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Oblongs and cubes are the most desirable shapes to use for a long time. 
These, with various light-weight boards or beaver board for floors and roofs, 
make fine houses, tunnels, bridges and tables. Two-by-fours planed carefully 
and then cut into oblongs 4, 6, or 8 inches long and four-by-fours cut into cubes 
make fine blocks. Other dimensions may be used, but you will pay dearly for 
your set unless you realize that by starting with the lumber already cut at the 
yards you can save labor cost. 

Wagon forms, boats and boxes may be held together and shoved around if 
the mother will tie a cord securely around the mass, leaving an end for pulling. 
Paper dolls and real dollies and “teddies” can ride in these wagons. 

If small blocks are used, do not use any smaller than 2x2x2 cubes or 2x4x1 




















































































































































































Early Childhood 


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oblongs. Sets of these may be bought in cherrywood boxes from Milton Bradley 
Co., New York and Boston, or Thomas Charles Company, Chicago. 


MODELING 

Clay and plasticine are the best materials to be employed in the child’s crude 
modeling. Bits of such material drop on the floor and are crushed in or make 
grease spots, so this activity is a real trial to the housekeeper; but its value to the 
child is so great that any mother should find a way to manage the housekeeping 
end to afford the child this benefit. Oil cloth spread on the table, papers laid 
on the floor and the child allowed to carry his clay figures about only on a tray 
to catch bits that crumble off, are some suggestions which may be adopted. 

Little children particularly enjoy clay, because the plastic material changes 
so quickly before their eyes. Their first forms are “snakes”—long rolls of 
clay; then, little cakes and balls. If clay is used, they like to run toothpicks 
through the balls, to make beads. When these are dried they may be painted and 
strung on a stout string, to make a necklace. 

For many things to be made, places to buy clay and plasticine, and the care 
of these, see the section on clay in Miss Barbour’s article on handwork for the 
four to six-year-old child. 





















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Designs which may be made with colored paper and cutting, tracing and 
crayoning of outlined filled in with paints. 

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Early Childhood 


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SOME FOLDED FORMS THE CHILD CAN USE IN HIS PLAY. 


























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Early Childhood 


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Peg Board for Small Children 


Countless Patterns Can Be 
Made on These Boards 

Give the Child a 
Smooth Piece of 
Board about 15x20'' 
and Let Him Pound in 
Tacks at Random. 

Balls of Colored Yam 

Wound from Tack to Tack Make Pictures. An ‘Animated Yarn” Polar Bear 
SOME USES OF THE PEG BOARD. 
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BEAD STRINGING 

Materials: Very large glass beads to be had in the department stores strung 
on a heavy double thread threaded through a blunt pointed tapestry needle. These 
also may be had from the dry goods store. They give pleasure to children. These 
and the wooden kindergarten beads may be used to develop ideas of number, 
form and design. The wooden beads come in two sizes of balls, cubes and 
cylinders, l /i inch in diameter, or the same forms 1 inch in diameter. Both sets 
have six colors in each form—red, yellow, blue, orange, green and purple, and are 
strung on shoe strings. Mothers will find these to be valuable playthings for the 
very young child. 


PEG BOARDS 

Children find valuable occupation using the wooden beads with peg boards. 
These come in two sizes, large and small. After the pegs are in place the beads 
may be put over them to form designs, walls to a doll house and other pictures. 
The peg boards are sold at most of the toy stores, or they can be ordered through 
such stores. 























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All-Over Design in Squares 


All-Over Design in Circles 



Five Borders 
Made with 

♦ ♦ ♦ Printing Sticks 

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DESIGNS WITH STICK PRINTING 
Stick printing is a very ingenious method of ornamentation and one that 
should arouse in children an ambition to create artistic effects. The require¬ 
ments are shown in the picture above. In the center of the picture are short 
sticks with originally smooth tops, on which designs are cut. A file, some flat¬ 
headed nails and a hammer are all the tools that are essential in perfecting the 
designs. The lower part of the illustration presents some suggestive patterns. 

Stick printing is valuable for ornamenting borders on booklets and the like. 
To get best results, color work is quite essential. Paint in the three primary 
colors, red, yellow and blue, will produce any secondary colors that may be 
desired. 




















































































Early Childhood 


123 


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Xand“c"=Legs and Arms 



Cut Bead f-som a Square Look Like Buttons 



Newspaper Folded Toys. How making comes from playing. 










































































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Early Childhood 


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Csthetic ‘Development of fit tie Qhildren 

Julia Wade Abbot 

A S a child’s appetite for the right kind of food may be trained and developed, 
so may his love for beauty be fostered by the thoughtful mother. But 
■ esthetic appreciation is a development, and must be based on the different 
interests that children show at different stages. The tastes of young children are 
very crude. They love noise and bright colors, and they tear flowers to pieces. But 
even in very little children there are certain interests upon which may be built a love 
for beauty in nature, in music and in art. The baby’s delight in bright, shining 
objects grows into the two-year-old’s interest in watching for the moon in the sky. 
Still later, there develops an interest in the stars and the changing phases of the 
moon. Baby’s pounding with his rattle may at first be mere delight in noise and 
in vigorous activity, but the succession of sounds made in pounding, the recurring 
motion of hand and arm, may develop into rhythmic action. The sounds he 
makes as he experiments with his voice grow into talking and singing. A very 
direct approach to art lies in the child’s interest in pictures. His joy in color is 
another avenue to art appreciation and also nature appreciation. His interest in 
collecting stones and pebbles, and plays in sorting and arrangement with this col¬ 
lected material, is still another approach to nature appreciation. 

In young children, then, the following interests serve as the basis for the 
development of esthetic appreciation: 

i. Interest in making sounds. 

2 . Interest in listening to sounds. 

3 . Interest in rhythm. 

4 . Interest in colors. 

5 . Interest in arrangement. 

6 . Interest in decorating. 

7 . Interest in collecting. 

Development of Art Appreciation . Children should be provided with experi- 







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ences that satisfy their love for color. The furnishings of the young child’s 
nursery, the clothes he wears, the toys he plays with, may all contribute to a 
development of the sense of color. Among his first toys should be some colored 
worsted balls. Young children are particularly fond of red and orange and purple. 
Later, he will enjoy stringing large colored wooden beads and arranging painted 
blocks in their square box container. The chapter on handwork will suggest what 
an important element color is in the use of materials. 

The procession of the festivals through the year are symbolized by the varied 
colors always associated with them. The red and green of Christmas, red, white 
and blue of the national holidays, colors that suggest spring flowers at Easter, 
orange and black for Hallowe’en, all give opportunity for varied arrangement and 
decoration. Children can help prepare for family gatherings and parties. Appro¬ 
priate table decorations, the arrangement of flowers, and the making of place cards 
give fine opportunity for real art training. It is well to remember that children 
are doubly interested in any festivity where they are allowed to participate. Too 
many elaborate things are bought by parents for children. “By the children” as 
well as “for the children” should be emphasized in family life. For example, 
children will be very much interested in dyeing their own Easter eggs, and the dye 
that is left over may be used in coloring pieces of cloth to make into doll clothes. 

Children should be allowed some choice in regard to their own clothes. If a 
child is specially fond of yellow, there is no reason why that particular color should 
not be used for some of her own dresses and those of her doll. If rompers are 
to be made from pink or blue gingham, and Billy is very fond of pink, why not 
give him a choice? Within the limits of price and suitability, children should be 
encouraged to express their personalities through their surroundings and what they 
wear. Far from making children vain, this is the best way to develop good taste 
and that unconsciousness which comes from knowing when one is suitably dressed. 
Besides having some choice in the matter of the clothes they wear every day, 
children should have a box of clothes and ornaments for “dressing up.” Cast off 
finery, dyed cheese cloth and collections of other things dear to a child’s heart 
will be in this chest. In “dressing up,” the children can indulge themselves in 
color combinations which could not be permitted in ordinary society. Children of 
five and over are also interested in making costumes. Indians are an all-absorbing 
theme for childhood, and riotous color can be used in making their costumes and 
head-dresses. Charades give an opportunity for other types of costumes. In rep¬ 
resenting kings and queens, some ingenious children represent ermine by daubs of 
blacking on canton flannel. 

With the younger children there are color plays which give great pleasure. 
If a prism is hung in the sunlight in the nursery window, the children will delight 



Early Childhood 


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in the vivid color thrown on wall and floor. Children will enjoy blowing bubbles 
and seeing the same lovely rainbow colors float in their round surfaces. When 
nature paints a rainbow in the sky, children will be much more awake to its beauty 
because they have had the more intimate experience with the prism and the soap 
bubbles. * 

Children should have some opportunity for expressing themselves in the 
rooms in which they sleep and play. The best kind of wall paper for a child’s 
room is not the figured kind, but a paper of a soft, pleasing shade that will provide 
a contrast for hangings and pictures. Colored chintz with warm, bright colors 
will tone in with such a paper. There should be few pictures in a child’s room, 
and only two or three that are hung there permanently. A burlap screen, or a 
framed oblong of cork board, or a picture frame that is made so pictures can be 
changed from time to time, will give an opportunity for variety. As pictures 
of different subjects, pictures varying in form and color, are introduced from time 
to time, the child will find his interest heightened and will begin to feel a com¬ 
panionship with them. Magazine covers are an excellent source for unframed 
pictures to be placed on screen or bulletin board. Pictures of the changing 
seasons may awaken the child’s interest in the beauty of nature. He will enjoy 
such pictures as those of Jessie Wilcox Smith, where little children are shown 
engaged in the same experiences that he enjoys. The picture of the little girl paint¬ 
ing a heart valentine, children saying grace at Thanksgiving, or the Christmas 
pictures will make interesting spots of color on the screen in the child’s room, and 
he will begin to think of pictures as an interpretation of his own experience. 
Relating pictures to one’s own life is a step to having pictures open our eyes to the 
beauty around us. Besides, in childhood one may begin to learn to “read” and 
interpret pictures, which is an accomplishment all should possess. 
















































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Colored prints may be secured from Albert Bonnier & Company, 361 Third 
Ave., New York City, and the Seeman prints may be secured through art dealers. 
These prints cover a large range of subjects that are of interest to young chil¬ 
dren. Pictures of the family, pictures of industry, lovely landscapes with field 
of bright-colored flowers, night pictures of moon and stars, are represented in 
good form and color. The National Child Welfare Association, 70 Fifth Avenue, 
New York City, publishes some large colored pictures suitable for framing; the 
subjects are the popular old fairy tales. 

A' child’s picture books are a gateway to art, and should be chosen with care 
and discrimination. There are so many beautiful illustrated books for children 
published at the present time that there is no excuse for buying books that contain 
ugly, grotesque and poorly-drawn pictures. Such books as the Caldecott picture 
books, Under My Window, and other books illustrated by Kate Greenaway, the 
Child Garden of Verses, illustrated by E. Boyd Smith, Hawthorne’s Wonder 
Book, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish, and Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit Series 
will become precious possessions not only for their literary content but for the 
beautiful form of the books themselves. There should be low shelves in the 
child’s room where he may keep these treasures as the nucleus of his own library. 

For the very young children scrap books are delightful. The interest of 
the two-year-old in animal pictures, the growing interest of the three-year-old in 
trains and automobiles, the pleasure of the four-year-old in pictures of little chil¬ 
dren dressed in pretty clothes or in pictures of bright colored flowers may form 
the basis of a collection of pictures in the scrap book. Later the child may be 
encouraged to collect his own pictures and paste them in a book. The child of 
five or six will enjoy making these books for younger brothers and sisters, or for 
children in hospitals. The sorting and arranging of the pictures will furnish 
good training in art, and the motive will add to the interest. 

Nature Appreciation. It has been suggested that pictures are one means of 
opening children’s eyes to the beauty of nature. But pictures and books can never 
take the place of real experiences. At the seashore children collect colored peb¬ 
bles and shells of many shapes. The child of two and three will spend hours in 
putting pebbles and shells in and out of his pail. The older child will enjoy mak¬ 
ing cakes and patterns in the sand with the imprint of the shells. In the country, 
collections are made of acorns, rose hips and other berries and colored leaves. 
Children enjoy stringing nature material. Necklaces may be made of hollow 
grasses or straws and strung with seeds and berries. Dandelions and daisy chains 
and leaf chaplets may also serve as adornments. 

Enjoying nature precedes the scientific study of nature in a child’s develop¬ 
ment. Long before he is interested in information about the changing phases of 



Early Childhood 


129 


the moon, he watches for the baby moon in the sky, and sees the man in the 
moon when the full moon appears. The bright and shining stars are friends and 
companions. That this is a natural attitude in young children is shown by the 
verses that have been written about this phase of experience, “Twinkle, Twinkle, 
Little Star,” “God Sees the Moon and God Sees Me,” “Sleep, Baby Sleep,” and 
many other songs and verses have been written for little children on this subject. 
Children under seven should have these verses read or sung to them as one ap¬ 
proach to nature study. The scientific study of nature will grow out of the more 
informal treatment of this earlier period. 

The contemplation of nature should never be forced upon the child. Children 
turned loose in a field of daisies on a perfect June day will rush to pick the daisies. 
The grown person may pause and drink in the beauty of meadow and sky. The 
child’s rapture in living and moving in this lovely place is no less real to him, 
but it is expressed in activity. A child’s moods, his emotions affect his apprecia¬ 
tion of beauty in all its forms and cannot be forced into adult moods. However, 
every thoughtful and appreciative mother may find time and opportunity in her 
busy life to enjoy sunsets, rainbows, and the changing phases of the moon and 
stars with her children. This type of nature phenomena induces in young chil¬ 
dren thoughtfulness and a quiet joy which is different from the happiness of a 
daytime experience. As has been suggested, the use of pictures and songs re¬ 
lating to changing aspects of nature help to intensify the children’s sense of beauty. 

Music Appreciation. In a book entitled Music and Life , Thomas Whitney 
Lurrette makes this statement: “American children are musical. American 
adults are not, and the chief reason is in the wasted opportunities of childhood.” 
Mr. Lurrette goes on to say that while young children should not receive technical 
musical instruction, their interest in rhythm and in melody may be developed and 
form the basis for technical instruction. Music with children in the home may 
take three forms: 

1. The development of rhythm. 

2 . The development of musical appreciation. 

3 . Tone production, or singing. 

Development of Rhythm. The appeal of rhythm is illustrated by the 
nursery rhymes and lullabies that have delighted children for many hundreds of 
years. This interest in rhythm is the most primitive form of musical appreciation. 
While the modern mother does not rock her baby to sleep, but lays him quietly 
on the bed and leaves him, there is no harm in singing to babies and in playing 
with them at appropriate times. “This little pig went to market” is demanded 
again and again by Mr. Baby when he is being dressed and undressed. He is 
charmed by the rhythm and repetition associated with the play with his toes. 



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“Trot, trot to market,” “I had a little hobby horse,” “This is the way the ladies 
ride,” repeated as baby is trotted on mother’s knee, is another form of rhythmic 
play. All the Mother Goose rhymes appeal to children because of their rhythmic 
quality. This traditional lore has great value for children, not only as the begin¬ 
ning of music but also of literature. All babies should have the experience of 
hearing lovely, soft, rhythmic music and associating it with the love and protection 
of the mother’s arms. Such lullabies as “Sleep, Baby, Sleep” and “Rock-a-bye- 
Baby” are every child’s heritage, even if he is not rocked to sleep with their music. 

As the baby grows older he will be interested in finger plays, and later he 
will be interested in plays that encourage the use of the whole body. He has 
learned to walk, and his action has become larger and more vigorous. About this 
time he may be interested in activity related to the music of piano or phono¬ 
graph, but care must be taken not to force his interest in responding to music. 
Young children vary greatly in this kind of interest. 

RESPONDING TO MUSIC THROUGH RHYTHM 



The question here arises whether it is better to use 
the piano or phonograph in developing musical apprecia¬ 
tion in children. Those are practical considerations 
which make the phonograph a more convenient instru¬ 
ment. It is more inexpensive, it takes up little room, 
and it demands no technic to produce its music. There 
are many advantages in piano music of the best type. 
Young children listen more readily to a piano than to a 
phonograph. The music is clearer and rounder, and 
there is a direct response to the person playing. The performer can also follow 
the moods and interests of the child much more readily than can be accomplished 
with the more inflexible instrument. However, a great deal of pleasure and profit 
may. be obtained from the use of the phonograph, and it has the great advantage 
of supplying the world’s best music for intimate use in the house. Most people 
have not enough technic to play this music. 

A child as young as two years will often listen with interest to instrumental 
music. He will enjoy strong, rhythmic music like the “March of the Men of 
Harlech” and “Bonnie Dundee.” The child is interested in the music and in the 
cessation of sounds when the music stops. He will be interested in clapping 
vigorously and stopping when the music stops, or tramping to it, or marching 
about the room. This kind of play should only be carried on for short periods 
of time. Keeping time to the music should never be emphasized at this stage. 
The child will grow naturally into the feeling of the rhythm, and any suggestion 



Early Childhood 


131 


of drill will take away from the play spirit. Children enjoy playing a game where 
they walk to the music and then sit down abruptly when it stops. This idea can 
be carried out in playing some of the nursery rhymes. Mother sings, 

“Jack and Jill went up the hill, 

To fetch a pail of water. 

Jack fell down—” 

The little child stands intent, waiting for the word “down.” The same idea comes 
in “Humpty-Dumpty.” The cessation of music as a signal is also used in the 
game of “Musical Chairs.” A small group of children will enjoy running 
around a row of chairs and sitting down quickly when the music stops. At the 
age of three or four it is not necessary to have the element of competition enter 
in, as with older children. The practice of having one chair too few for the 
group so that one child fails to get a chair each time will be enjoyed. 

The ability to recognize when the music is playing and when it ceases may 
be the basis of a finer discrimination between loud and soft music. At first the 
two elements should not be combined in one piece. A very light march, such as 
Schumann’s “Soldier March,” may be played very softly. Then such marches as 
“The March of the Men of Harlech,” or “The Parting March” from Lenore by 
Raff may be played vigorously. The child may be given a choice as to which 
one he wants repeated, learning to use the words “loud” and “soft.” He can 
choose whether he would like to clap to the music or march to it. If he claps 
very loud, the mother can suggest that she cannot hear the soft music. 

For the development of marching, skipping and other rhythmic activities, a 
wooden floor is almost indispensable. Not only can the child hear the beat of 
his feet as he keeps time to the music, but he can secure a freedom of motion 
which is not possible on rugs or carpets. 

After loud and soft have been associated with different pieces, they may be 
combined in one piece, which will require more attention from the child. Tramp¬ 
ing and walking on tip-toe are the two contrasted responses. As discrimination 
develops, ordinary walking may be added to music moderately loud. Responding 
to loud and soft music is the basis of the game, “Magic Music,” which can be 
played by one child or a group of children. The child goes out of the room, and 
the one remaining in the room hides a thimble or any small, familiar object. When 
the child comes back into the room, the music plays loud when he approaches the 
place where the object is hidden and soft when he is far away. The music may 
stop entirely when he is very far away. This game gives excellent training in 
listening to the instrument as a signal. Listening to music as an esthetic experi¬ 
ence would be quite different, and will be described later. 

Other rhythms besides marching are galloping, skipping, and light running 



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and suitable music may be provided for each one of these activities. Children of 
two and three and even some children of four years skip with one foot leading, not 
being able to throw the weight from one foot to the other. Kindergarten teachers 
have sometimes called this “skipping on one foot.” It is a little prancing motion 
and from it may develop the more accented gallop and skipping. The child can 
learn to throw weight from one foot to the other by hopping slowly on alternate 
feet. When the child has just learned to skip, the music should follow his activity. 
Later, very beautiful movement may be developed in the slow skip, where the 
knees are lifted high, and the quick, little tripping skip. 

In addition to free, rhythmic movement about the room, certain music will 
suggest twirling, or jigging in place. Combination of these steps with stamping, 
tapping the feet and clapping will be suggested by the children as they learn to 
interpret music in bodily rhythm. Slow walking and bowing will be suggested by 
the music of the minuet. All this activity should be very free and natural. If 
young children receive the idea that following the explicit directions of an adult 
is the only way to learn to dance, they will never interpret the music in original 
ways of their own. Instruction in dancing steps should come at a later period. 

A set of phonograph records has been prepared under the direction of Miss 
Patty Hill, Professor of Education, Teachers College, New York, for use in the 
kindergarten and primary grades. These records contain selections of beautiful 
classic music, and are classified as Music for Interpretation, Music for Apprecia¬ 
tion, Music for the Band. A descriptive booklet entitled Latest List of New 
Columbia Records for Kindergarten and Primary Grades may be secured from 
the Educational Department of the Columbia Graphophone Company, 1819 
Broadway, New York City. A selected list will be given at the close of this 
chapter. 

USE OF INSTRUMENTS 

Drums and horns and mouth organs have always 
been popular playthings with children. The kinder¬ 
garten has used this interest in the form of a kin¬ 
dergarten orchestra. Care is taken in the selection 
of the instruments. As the children play in response 
to the music of piano or phonograph, it is obvious 
that the melody must not be submerged in the dis¬ 
cord that would result from the way children play 
such instruments as horns and mouth organs. Young 
children have not the technic to play the melody, so 
only instruments that emphasize rhythm are used. 
Drums, tambourines, triangles, cymbals, rattles with 










Early Childhood 


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bells, give variety in the quality of sound, but do not interfere with the harmony 
of piano or phonograph. Drums, tambourines and rattles can be bought in toy 
departments. The other instruments can be procured at music stores. If one 
does not want to buy special instruments, rattles of different kinds and small blocks 
which may be struck together can be used. 

The same sequence may be followed in learning to use the instruments as 
was used with the activities of clapping, stamping, etc. A simple march may be 
played, the child keeping time with drum or tambourine, rattle or blocks. While 
“keeping time” should not be unduly emphasized, the use of instruments will 
follow the development of marching, skipping, etc., and the child of five or six 
will have a better idea of rhythm because he has performed these activities to 
music. He should play the instruments lightly in the beginning, so that he can 
keep with the piano or phonograph. He will enjoy the game of having the music 
stop and not being “caught” by playing on with his own instrument. If there are 
two or more children playing, one child may be the leader of the orchestra and 
use a stick for a baton. He may indicate by rapping when he wishes the music 
to begin, and when he wishes the music to stop, he may raise both hands or use 
any other definite signal that he may choose to adopt. Some children develop 
considerable ability in responding to phrases in the music, and become sensitive to 
changes in time and melody. They are able to play their instruments during one 
phrase, stop at the beginning of the next phrase and let the piano or phonograph 
play it alone. When the familiar first phrase returns, they play once more. One 
would not expect all six-year-old children to develop this type of discrimination, 
but it is given merely as an example of the way listening to music may be de¬ 
veloped with children who have some musical ability. 

Another variation in the use of instruments is responding to loud and soft 
music. The contrast should first be emphasized in different selections; later, loud 
and soft may be combined in the different phrases of one piece. From being able 
to distinguish between loud and soft will develop the ability to distinguish more 
subtle qualities, as light and heavy, slow and fast, etc. The tambourine is an ex¬ 
cellent instrument to use in this connection, because two kinds of sound can be 
produced on the one instrument. The child may beat the tambourine for the heavy 
music and shake it gently in time to the lighter music. The tambourine lends 
itself delightfully to the invention of dances by the children. For example, music 
that suggests a slow walk and then a light run or a twirling around, would give 
the child the suggestion of walking slowly, beating the tambourine in time to his 
footsteps, and then shaking it merrily as he twirls or runs or jigs. 

When various instruments are used with a number of children, finer dis¬ 
tinctions may be made in differentiation of quality. Drums and tambourines may 



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be used for definite beats and heavy parts; rattles, small cymbals and triangles 
may be used for lighter parts. The leader of the kindergarten orchestra enjoys 
the power that comes from indicating to each group of players who shall play and 
who shall desist. The grand finale of the piece enlists the enthusiastic cooperation 
of all the players. 

LISTENING TO MELODY 

Reference has already been made to the singing of lullabies to children. 
When they have become familiar with “Sleep, Baby, Sleep” or “Rock-a-bye 
Baby,’’ they will enjoy hearing these records played on the phonograph. The 
same will be true of the Mother Goose rhymes. After listening to the music of 
these familiar songs, folk music, which has a decided rhythmic quality, may hold 
their attention. Illustrations of such music are “Bonnie Dundee,” “Pop Goes the 
Weasel,” “Money Musk,” and “March of the Men of Harlech.” When the chil¬ 
dren have grown familiar with certain musical selections and ask for certain 
favorites, they are probably ready to listen to a more subtle type of melody. The 
theme from Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony,” or the Andante from the Fifth, or 
the “Morning Mood” by Grieg may be played to children in those happy, intimate, 
quiet hours which are a part of all true home life. When young children learn 
to appreciate beautiful melody, they will enjoy concert music when they are older. 

LEARNING TO SING 

The age at which a child is able to carry a melody 
differs widely with individual children. Sometimes a 
child of three will carry a tune quite independently of 
another person or of an instrument. Some children of 
six are unable to sustain a melody. Ear training can 
do much to help children in learning to sing. A child’s 
inability to sing is due in almost every case to an in¬ 
ability to hear the gradation in the tones that make up 
the melody. For the child who only sings on one or two 
notes, matching tones will be an interesting game The 
object of this exercise is to train the child to hear different tones and to reproduce 
them. The mother may play that the train is going to whistle and the child is to 
make another whistle just like it. She may give the sound to “toot-too,” sing or play 
it on the piano. At first it is best to use the tones that the child himself naturally 
uses. Indeed, it is a good plan to have the child make the sound first, and the 
mother reproduce it. This gives him confidence, and helps him to hear his own tone. 
The tone may at first be low and heavy, but if the child is encouraged to sing very 




Early Childhood 


135 


softly, as if the train were far away, he will begin to get a lighter and higher tone. 
Another play that he will enjoy will be “echo” or “hide-and-seek.” The mother 
calls softly and he responds from his hiding place with the same note, or he may 
sing “I am here,” on one note when he is hiding. A second step may be taken by 
having the child sing the simple lullaby, “Hush, my baby, go to sleep,” to the 
notes of “a” and “e”—key of “A,” beginning on “A” and singing the melody 
slowly and evenly. Care should be taken to have the child sing lightly, so as to 
secure a head tone. He should be encouraged when he achieves any change in 
pitch from the few tones that he has been able to sing at first. He should never 
be made to feel that he is slow in learning to sing. Many adults who love music 
and yet who have never learned to carry a tune might have been trained to do so 
if they had been encouraged instead of discouraged when they were children. 

Children should learn songs by hearing them sung. The song should be as 
natural a mode of conveying an idea as a story. While instruments can never 
take the place of the human voice in this phase of musical expression, records 
may be used fairly successfully, and can be secured from the different producing 
companies. Children may learn to sing songs from the records, if the words have 
been taught them in the same natural way that they have learned their Mother 
Goose. Some excellent children’s songs will be found in the following books: 

1. Child Land in Song and Rhythm. Jones and Barbour. Published by Arthur 
Schmidt, New York. 

2. First Year Music. Dann. American Book Company, New York. 

3. Small Songs for Small Singers. Neidlinger. Schermer, New York. 

4. Mother Goose Melodies. Elliott. McLaughlin Bros., New York. 

Columbia Records 

1. A—3100 Simple march time. First stage in clapping, marching, keeping 

time with instruments. 

2. A—3096 Other types of marches. 

3. A—3129 and A—3130 More elaborate music for band, with suggestions 

for different instruments. 

^ 3 I2 61 ]yf us j c f or b aric i with variations in time and themes. 

3 I2 3 / 

5. A—3099 Music for skipping. 

6. A—3128 Gallops. 

7. A—3098 1 Music with the suggestion for combinations of walking, running, 
A—3127 J stamping, bowing, etc. 

8. A—3095 Lullabies. Music for appreciation. 

9. A—3094 1 Melodies for appreciation. 

A—3122 J Melodies from Beethoven for appreciation. Listening. 




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How Qhildren Teach Themselves 


Minnetta S. Leonard 


LARNING is a natural process in children. Their play, to a discern¬ 



ing adult, is constantly revealing the way his mind works and how he 


"• ** should be educated. He uses correct methods and reveals through his 
interests what the subject matter should be, but his inexperience and lack of 
knowledge of what material may be had on these subjects make it impossible 
for him to get all the good to be had from his interests. It is for the adults 
about him, who have an understanding of what literature, mathematics, geog¬ 
raphy and science have to offer him, to come to his rescue and help him 

through his own methods to get bit by bit what experience he can use from 
these. Often the ideal opportunity for a live arithmetic lesson at home, worth 
more than a week of drill at school, is lost because the parent has not seen its 
possibilities. 

Parents should be alert always to give help or suggestion at the crucial time. 
This means looking ahead to see what the child of this age may turn to at any 
time, the interests he is likely to develop on the one hand, and on the other, 

keeping in mind what of number, reading, geography, science, sewing or hand¬ 

iwork and the like may be useful to him and that he may grasp. It means 
having a knowledge of the sources of books and material possibly to be needed 
and knowing where they may be had at a moment’s notice. He must read the 
signs of a dawning interest, and be prepared to help when it comes. If taken 
at the right time, a long series of useful activities may follow. If ignored, the 
interest may drop and the chance for development along this line may be lost. 



























Early Childhood 


137 


May the writer take an illustration from her own records?* Betty, age 
six and a half, had for many days shown a deep interest in cooking and begged 
to bake a cake herself. Her mother should have stopped her other work and 
been prepared to give her a simple cake recipe should she ask for one. But it 
was a busy season, just before Easter, so she put the matter off, saying, “Yes, 
you wait until I find one a little girl can follow.” Easter morning came and 
with it several delightful surprises for Betty. Her gratitude, as it should, took 
the form of wanting to return joy to her parents. A cake for a surprise for 
mother was naturally her first idea. She hurriedly dressed to rush downstairs 
to make it. Her father promised to help her when he got up. But an Easter 
nap was too good to be cut short for a cake which could bake as well at eleven 
o’clock as earlier. He mother, surmising her ambition, begged her to wait until 
she could help her. Betty tried hard to wait. She hunted a recipe from the book 
and showed it to her mother. “No,” said her mother, “that won’t do, there is so 
much books do not say about mixing sugar and butter and about baking that 
you must wait until I am ready.” After a bit Betty returned joyously, an¬ 
nouncing that she had the things ready and would wait. Getting things ready 
had been put to several ingredients in the bowl. The precious sugar and 
expensive butter and eggs were wasted. Her mother saw only a case for dis¬ 
cipline. When she said, “I’m sorry you didn’t mind mother; you will have 
to put off making the cake until another day,” the disappointment brought yells 
and passionate howls and kicks, t Her mother found herself with the most serious 
case of discipline she had ever had on her hands. 

The state of nerves and fatigue which too often obscures the mother’s 
sense of realities are altogether inexcusable in adults who dare to guide little 
children. In this case father saw the truth. “You shouldn’t have asked such 
a hard thing. Why didn’t you ask her to dress her doll or do some definite 
errand until you were ready to help her?” Later he proposed to Betty, with 
no reference to trouble in the morning, that the two surprise mother with some 
“butter scotch.” The candy was a failure, but even now, a year later, it re¬ 
mains in Betty’s mind as perfect candy. The true way, which her mother has 
followed since, would have been to allow the waste of fifty cents’ worth of 
material on Betty’s experiment. The failure she would have made of her cake 
if left alone would have been the best experience to make her realize the need 
for following directions. Her mother went down to the library the next day, 
secured several children’s cook books and made a small recipe card file. Next 
day Betty was left alone to prepare a few simple things for the family. A 

•Unpublished records of the author. 

+Such passionate outbursts are usually caused by a sense of injustice. An attempt to understand the 
child’s point of view and his nature often averts a need of discipline. 




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kindly neighbor lent a cake mixer into whifch all cake ingredients are put with¬ 
out the work of creaming, sugar, etc., and Betty succeeded in making a cake 
by herself which the family ate with pleasure. 

An excursion to a nearby cash-and-carry store will be used here to illus¬ 
trate the kind of learning situations which are so valuable that they should 
form the basis and starting point for most lessons in and out of school. The 
progressive school sees to it that the same kind of plays described shall take 
place in school as well as at home, and that all later formal lessons in reading, 
writing and so on, grow out of these. The store is merely one of the many 
activities, the child dramatizes. Going to church, making calls, riding on street 
cars, entertaining company and having a circus are favorite ones. The coming 
of Santa is probably the favorite subject for dramatization. Going away on 
trains, to the sea shore, farm, mountains—the values in these will be mentioned 
later. 

Representative and dramatic plays begin at about the age of two and a 
half years. The same experience may be dramatized by the two-year-old dozens 
and dozens of times until he is eight, nine, or ten. But each time he does it he 
makes changes in his dramatizations and enlarges upon them. At each stage the 
help he needs from teacher or mother differs, because his problem each time is a 
new one. The little child is likely to play out only one part at a time. One 
day it is the telephoning; next the writing down orders or their delivery; again 
it may be the sorting and arranging of objects for sale or the conversation be¬ 
tween his mother and the storekeeper; or it may mean getting his dolls ready 
and going to the store. Gradually he puts more and more of these activities to¬ 
gether, until at four or older he acts out all of these at once. Somewhere he 
lacks ready-made objects tcf use, and he begins to cut out money, fold a box or 
bag, fashion a crude pocketbook, and handiwork enters in. 



































Early Childhood 


139 



Much later his standards of dramatizing become more and more exacting. 
His imitations of conversation, directions and activities must be more real. 
Then he becomes discontented with scribbled signs and wants real ones; so 
he learns to print or write these. Later he is not satisfied to play weigh, meas¬ 
ure, make change, etc., but must have the real thing; so he becomes interested 
in being exact and in getting a mastery of measures, weights, money and other 
knowledge of use to the storekeeper. They imitate first the striking and out¬ 
standing activities, and gradually try to get at the less evident and real in these 
activities as the years go on. 

Reasons Why Children Play at Reproducing the Life of People About Them. 
It would be most interesting to go into this topic, but space is so limited in a 
book of this kind that it isn’t possible. It would be well for mother to read 
Spontaneous and Supervised Play, by Alice Corbin Sies. The writer has had 
a wide experience with children in kindergarten, school and public playground, 
as well as with her own child. This book is a record of her experiences. Also 
Johnston’s Education Through Plays and Games and Play Life in the First 
Eight Years, by Luella A. Palmer, are excellent for further study. Here we 
shall merely state without elaboration what seems to be the reason children de¬ 
light in playing at reproduction of the lives of other people. 

1. In the little child thinking and acting are not separated. To think an 
act usually means to perform it. Most of the plays are a sort of thinking out 
loud. He plays the thing he is thinking. An adult’s thoughts about these 
things march through his mind with no sign to an onlooker of what is in his 
mind. This power to think without expression develops very slowly in the 
child. 















































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2. Pleasure is the law of child development. He sees people doing certain 
things. He only does what pleases him. Hence, he supposes that people per¬ 
form certain acts because they derive pleasure from them. By imitating these 
activities, 'he seeks to get the same pleasurable experiences for himself. But 
he is a social being—he wants to share in the life he sees and to be a part of all 
that is around him. 

3. What he imitates at any time depends upon the kind of development he 
seems to need at that particular stage. Muscles and nerve coordinations which 
are seeking development urge the child to select for imitation activities which 
give the needed exercise. His need to sort, group and arrange, in order to 
























































Early Childhood 


141 


classify his ideas, leads to the collecting and arranging of objects. His need 
to manipulate leads him to imitate sweeping, dusting, scrubbing, and so on. 
Thus he exercises body and mind at the same time. Around six, when number 
work and reading interests are dawning, he adds these to his play. And 
wholesome absorbing play is establishing right emotional attitudes, happy 
“busyness,” and the sense of freedom with growing sense of self-respect 
through accomplishment. This need for the development of imagination along 
right lines is especially cultivated in these plays. 

Educational Values for Parents to Seize Upon. The play of the child at 
any particular time reveals two things to the onlooker. (1) It discloses the 
extent of the child’s development, (2) and informs parents as to the things he 
is ready to appropriate and use out of the many experiences which will later 
be developed. There arise these points: 

1. Should I let my child go on with this play? Does it present worthy 
ideals of service, bravery, effort, cleanliness, etc., which he may get through 
thinking in act about them? 

2. May these activities lead to the formation of good habits of work and 
courtesy? Plays which represent housework may be used to teach well how real 
beds should be made by making the dollies’ beds in the right way; by washing! 














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doll’s clothes and giving lessons in real washing. When he plays street car at 
home John may learn to assist his mother or playmates to get on and off cars, to 
give up his seat to ladies, and to tip his hat when he does so. 

3. What desirable handwork may be suggested as a valuable aid in this 
play? May other handwork activities, such as drawing what one sees and 
does, also cutting, painting and clay modeling, develop from such play? 

4 . Can I add music as a rhythm or a song to give expression of this 
experience in another way? 

5. Have I any good pictures of others doing these same things to show in 
this connection? 

6 . Is there any opportunity to get number-work experience from this play? 
Does it suggest the value of knowing how to read, or learning to write? Much 
success in these subjects comes from a hunger in the child to master them for 
his own use. While we should not give formal lessons in these subjects early, 
we may use these pre-school years in whetting the appetite and making the 
child feel a real need for them. This will be the carrying power and the urge 
when once we give him liberty to work at them as formal studies. 

Let us again use the illustration of the results of a visit to the store, to 


























Early Childhood 


143 



show how the mother may help in the play to develop its greatest value and 
to illustrate the difference the age of the child will make in his play. 

John, aged three, may spend much time with his wagon, or a box he pulls 
about, loading groceries, wrapping up objects in newspaper, for groceries to 
deliver at mother’s chair. He may go to the wall to answer an imaginary tele¬ 
phone call, to give or take orders. He needs companionship for this play. The 
mother by her questions as a person in the game leads him to make his play 
more real. If he calls a cube an apple, his mother, who knows his ball would 
be better, says, “No, thank you, I don’t want that sort of an apple. I like 
round ones. Next time you have some nice apples bring me some. John 
hunts around and selects a better toy for his apples. 

His mother sees to it that materials which will help him at his play are at 
hand, but if she is wise she lets him find them and select them himself. All 
suggestions and corrections she gives in the spirit of a companion in the play. 
This is easy to do while continuing to do the housework. Some one to con¬ 
verse with is about all the little one asks of his companions in these early plays. 

Mary, aged three and a half, may do all these things, but she may go 
further. She may fix a counter, using a chair, or two chairs and a table board 
for a shelf, and arrange all sorts of objects for things to sell. She may have 


























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boxes arranged to hold these, or use collections of empty cans and boxes for 
things to put on sale. She may need money for selling. Perhaps she will add 
to this play an attempt to write orders, and so on. Her play is more complicated 
than John’s. She will be satisfied with just imagining a few big activities, but 
will add more detailed action and conversation and require more objects which 
in shape or color resemble her merchandise. Balls for apples and oranges, 
cylinders for cans of vegetables and fruit, sticks for bananas, candy sticks, etc., 
cubes for boxes of various kinds are demanded. She will probably want bits 
of paper for money. Before long she will want a shopping bag. Perhaps the 
gift of mother’s old handbag may have started this play, reproducing a trip she 
enjoyed when her mother’s handbag played an important part. 

Her mother sees to it that Mary has a good corner to play in. She will 
let her have boards or boxes to make the shelves, also empty pasteboard boxes 
and paper bags which she has saved for such purpose, and all sorts of objects 



to sort, group, and arrange for things to sell—clothespins, sticks, burnt matches, 
marbles or. wooden beads, and the like, collected from anywhere about the 
house. 

Or, the mother may see that Mary’s ability to build with large blocks 
makes it easy for her to construct a good block store with counter and shelves 
on which she may put objects for sale. She may make little cakes and pies to 
sell. A paper-doll man and a lady as customers will be wonderful incentives to 
play out the whole scene. The mother sees that if Mary’s building is good 
and the play has just started, the block store should be left until to-morrow, so 
the play may continue where it was interrupted. 

Or, maybe she can build a wagon with her blocks. Mother helps by tying 
a string slightly around this wagon to hold it together, and Mary loads up her 
wagon and delivers her groceries. She may discover the need of block houses 































Early Childhood 


145 



at which to leave groceries, and so she builds many simple houses. A great 
variety of activities may grow out of a really vital experience. 

May, who is older, is beginning to count. She counts out the number of bana¬ 
nas, apples, etc., asked for, with mother’s help where she omits or repeats a num¬ 
ber. She measures large and small, long and short, heavy and light things, as 
the shopper calls for these. So even here a quite valuable bit of number exper¬ 
ience begins. 

Mary may spend a long time drawing pictures of a little girl and her 
mother going shopping; of things they saw on the way to the store and at 
the store. Her mother helps to make these better by questioning what the 
little girl is doing—is the little girl in the picture as big as her mother, etc. 

She has acquired some ideas of using material for making things; so she 
moulds cookies, loaves of bread, apples, roughly-rolled clay sticks for bananas. 
She uses her clay to tell part of the story. 

When she plays with her blocks she tries to build the counters, the shelves 
where the cans are kept, the grocer’s wagon, and boxes in which he kept his 
vegetables. 

She is learning to cut out pictures, and as she finds pictures of fruits, 
cracker boxes, and gelatin advertisements she may pile them up to use for a 
store. 

Jane, aged five and a half, has probably played the same things as Mary, 
but she has, no doubt, been interested in the signs she saw, in trying to read 
labels on the cans, on the store front, in the window. Her playing store is more 
accurate than Mary’s in what it attempts to represent, and her conversation 
is more nearly like her mother’s and the storekeeper’s. To make things more 
real, she may try to print signs, to cut out pictures of loaves of bread, cans of 
vegetables, and the like, paste standards behind them to make them stand up; 
to make real boxes and bags to hold articles. Her clay fruits and vegetables 




















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are truer in form, and many she may have dried and colored to make the forms 
more lifelike. If she writes things in her order book she is likely not to be 
satisfied with just scribbling, but will want to write real words, and take pride 
in their appearance. 

Her handwork, while better than Jane’s, will not be done merely to repro¬ 
duce what she saw, but to reproduce things to use, and whether they are usable 
or not will be the standards by which she judges her own work. 

She also will draw pictures telling the story of her trip, and perhaps paint 
them, too. 

Jane may wish to make a pocketbook and bag to carry to the store, and 
probably a dress or a hat for her to wear when she shops with her doll baby. 

This is the mother’s chance to furnish background experiences in sewing, 
cutting and designing. Her block building, folding, cutting and drawing should be 
much more carefully done than Mary’s. She will no doubt attempt much harder 
forms and be more critical of their suitability, and yet she is still at the age 
where experiment rules, and perfection is put off until a later age. The mother 
should hold to the neatest and best work (never careless work) of which Jane 
is capable at this time, but be content to wait two or three years, possibly, for 
the beautifully finished article. This isn’t the only time that Jane will attempt 
these things. Each succeeding effort she makes will quite likely be better than 
the last, showing the growth which has taken place in her ideals and power of 
execution. Parents too often discourage effort by demanding perfection too 
early. 

While Mary and John may have been satisfied with mother’s little part in 
the play while she went on with her own work, Jane feels the need of some one 
else to enact the part of storekeeper from whom she buys. One or more play¬ 
mates become a real necessity for the successful carrying out of the game. 









Early Childhood 


147 


If she has playmates, it is quite likely that one becomes the storekeeper and 
another the housekeeper. And there develop two quite distinct plays. The 
mother, keeping house, cooking, dusting, sweeping, sewing and going shopping; 
the storekeeper, arranging and tending the store. There might be more than one 
store set up. Often the drama of the family life is acted. The storekeeper 
becomes the father, who closes up his store at night and comes home to eat 
and sleep. 

Jane’s actual trips to the store now have a different meaning to her. She 
enters the store with eyes wide open, to see how it looks, what the storekeeper 
does, how much things cost, and so on, gathering information which will help 
her out in her own play. She becomes more alert to signs, prices, the use of 
scales and measures, to the use of the telephone and the telephone book. 

Henry, quite a little older than Jane, carries this interest yet further. He 
may be ambitious to be a storekeeper, and so tries to acquire the training he 
thinks will fit him for it. He uses weights and measure at home, learns to 
write and print signs, to take orders others can read, to buy and sell with paper 
money marked in cents, nickels, and dimes, and develops a simple system of 
number work. He is not so content with the pretence, but must have the 
trading more nearly like real business. The things he sells must be more like 
things for sale, and his handwork thus steadily improves. 

Suggestions on what things to make and how to make them should originate 
with the child, as far as possible; the mother steps in only when needed. Re¬ 
member, it is not the mother whose life is unfolding and seeking expression, 
but the child’s. Give him freedom to unfold. 

There is no better situation for the development of real numbers than the 
store plays. Too often, however, children are not helped to get all the value 
from these, because parents discourage the play. A store takes time to get 
ready, and plenty of room. By the time a store is ready for real business play¬ 
time is over—everything must be taken down and put away. There should be 
a corner of the playroom, the attic or cellar, where plays set up may stay from 
day to day until all the good possible has been derived from them before they 
are torn down. 

This is one real chance for number work. Give Henry plenty of chances 
to buy at real stores, to make change, to ask prices, to watch weighing and 
measuring. At home let him use real scales to weigh all sorts of objects and 
record results. Let him measure quarts, pints, gallons, and record his findings. 
Send him to the store with definite problems to be worked out by asking the 
storekeeper. He may also realize the need of recording the money he takes in 
and what he does with it. He becomes interested in keeping accounts. Prac¬ 
tical use of dividing, multiplying fractions, and other processes may be made to 



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mssss^s^sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssm 



FOR PICTURING HIS INDIAN PLAYS IN THE SAND BOX. 
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grow out of these plays. These facts become knowledge, because based on 
real experience. 

These are the opportunities of the home school over the regular school. It 
may seize upon any worth while activity as it comes up, and make use of it. 
It is not bound by a cut-and-dried course of study or hampered by wishes and 
interference of supervisor or the demands of other people’s standards. This 
home school may always run parallel to the regular school and supplement the 
work done there; or, it may be the means of making up for the lack of work 
which should be done in school. But the chances are that wherever the school 





























Early Childhood 


149 



life is really feeding the child, he will carry on of his own accord the school 
activities in the home. He will live the same things in school and out. This is 
one important test of a good school. 

The progressive school, as has been stated before, makes use of these plays 
in school to develop the school subjects, and at first children are quite uncon¬ 
scious of learning reading, writing and numbers. Even the geography of other 
countries, of Holland, Japan, Eskimo-land becomes real knowledge, unlabeled as 
geography, through dramatizing the story of Kit and Kat, the Dutch Twins, of 
Taro and Taki, who lived in Japan, or Meni and Moni, the Eskimo Twins, 
Natural questions arise about where these countries are, how we get there, what 
kind of climate they have, which may lead to interest in maps showing these. 

Why Children Need the School. These home activities after school age ar¬ 
rives should run parallel with the school work and continue in vacation days. 
Unless the school is very poor, sanitary conditions bad, room overcrowded, or 
the child is in poor health, it is far better that the boy or girl go to school. Few 
homes, however ideal, can furnish the space and materials required for the en¬ 
larged ideals of these dramatic and representative plays. Few mothers are so 
trained that they can respond quickly to the increasing demands for knowledge 
in the various subjects; or if she were, few have the time to devote to these 
needs. Moreover, the boy or girl as he grows older needs more children of his 
own age to play with him. The good school furnishes all these. The formal 
subjects grow out of these home plays in school so naturally that the child does 
































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ties&sssssssssssssseessssessessssesssessssesssssses&sssssssem 
TOYS HE CAN PLAY WITH 


igar-Box Viol in 



a -Cigar box. b-Lath. c-Block 
jjlued on for bridge. d-Nail 
put through loop of wire 
violin string, e - Screw-eye 
used to tighten wire. 


featherM 



cork 


sh arm pin 
a Boy’s 


target 

A Game for 
Christmas Gift 




Horse. Trace picture of horse, add 
rockers, fold double and cut. Paste 
together above dotted line, color with 
crayon^and spread at bottom. 

Another rocking horse may 
be made by cutting two horses 
i from stiff paper. Paste pa rt of 
\ match box between bodies''"^. 

, where doll can sit. Fold paste- 
board (a) width of box, paste in for brace 


not realize that they are the work that many children dislike. When they read 
about Kit and Kat (The Dutch Twins, by Lucy Perkins) in schoolbooks and 
want to play the story, they find plenty of others who want the same thing; and 
a teacher who knows how to help them will read more about Kit and Kat’s Hol¬ 
land home; will tell how to help fix their costumes, where to get pictures, and 
so on. By the time this play is over they have had and mastered an excellent 
geography lesson. 

The more mothers study to help make the most of these plays at home, the 
more convinced they will be that this is the natural and right way. 


























Early Childhood 


151 


















































































































152 


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1 

1 

2 

I 2 









5 

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4 

4 


Paste 1 under 1; 

2 under 2; Sunder 3; 
4 under4; and 
Cut Out Sides 


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Squares for 
1 Chair P- ‘ 



Legs Cut after Pasting 


Use Twelve Squares 
for Bed n _ n 



Bure a ax 


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Cuton Heavy Lines. Fold on Dotted 
Lines. Paste a"over a-A aver "A". Join 1 t2 Chimney 
3°r4.‘Roof and Chimney of House Extra., 


Dog Fennel 


Cut Wide Door for Bam 
FOLDED DOLL HOUSE FURNITURE. 

These forms and many others from the sixteen-square fold are among 
the simplest forms and, therefore adapted to the abilities of the child at 
this age. Stout squares of various sizes may be ordered from the school 
supply houses, Milton Bradley, Thomas Charles Co., Chicago, for example. 
But any parent can make them from heavy wrapping or manila paper by 
drawing around a carefully made cardboard square, or by cutting di¬ 
rectly from stout paper with a studio cutter. Brass spreaders may be 
used for drawer pulls or these and other decorations can be put on with 
pencil. 




































































































































































































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OTHER SETS OF SPONTANEOUS PLAYS WHICH ARE OF 
ESPECIAL VALUE TO GIRLS 

Housekeeping Plays. Two lines of development from the age of five onward; 

Doll house. 

Valuable activities which by being encouraged may last through years. 

Sewing: curtains, bed-clothes, sofa pillows, doll clothes, real dressmaking. 

Weaving: rugs. 

Design: wallpapers, rugs, doilies, tablecloths, sofa pillows, curtains. 

What Parents Should, Furnish: 

1. For Doll House: A good house, very plain and simple, which the. child 
cannot make for himself. For very small child: furnishings. As the child 
grows older remove bits at a time to encourage the making of furniture. 

Suggestions where needed. 

Materials required. 

Showing where child is altogether in the dark. 

2. For the Playhouse: When children start this play they use chairs, screens, 
etc., to divide off rooms. At about six, if given screens, the Log Cabin Blocks 
(very large) or the Hill-Schoenhut Blocks, girls can outline their own houses, one 
room or several. The disadvantage of this play is that few houses have the space 
to use for these plays. A cellar or attic is good, or part of the garage. In summer 
a large piano box in the back yard is excellent. 

Furnishing: Children should be given boxes and boards to construct furni¬ 
ture ; paints, brushes, and varnish for finishing furniture and floor; rags for weav¬ 
ing rugs; old curtain material and carpeting or other things they require. 

Valuable development to be gained from the playhouse plays: 

Painting: floors, outside of house. 

Carpenter work: furniture, perhaps even making a doll-house. 

Cardboard construction work: furniture and other toys. 

Cooking: where children really live and keep house in the play house. 

Housekeeping: keeping the dollhouse or the playhouse in order. 

A later development: they may make books on household decoration. 

Both Boys and Girls Enjoy and Profit From These Plays: 

^Dramatizing Santa Claus and Christmas. 

Dramatizing stories, such as fairy tales, children of other lands, etc., and 
especially the circus. This is rich in opportunity for self-expression, because the 
experiences of the circus are real, and usually physical exercise forms an important 
part of their performance. 

*A11 dramatizations, to be of ’ educational value, should be worked out by the children themselves,— 
speeches, staging, and as much of the costuming as they can do themselves. “Dramatics” for little chil¬ 
dren kills development and too often makes artificial, self-conscious children. 




Early Childhood 


155 


Often, as children grow older, it is a help to them when parents let them 
collect around them to talk over their plans and list the materials they need. If 
done in the spirit of helping them in the supply of materials, the children are not 
conscious of direction on the part of the parents. The effort to formulate their 
plans to present to another is a great help to the children themselves and often 
secures a successful play where otherwise it might be inferior. Care should always 
be exercised by the adult helper, however, that the ideas and the organizing do 
come from the children. The helper’s part should be to ask questions in such a 
way that the children become conscious of the gaps in their plans. 


































































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Qelebration of Special TDays 

Minnetta S. Leonard 

I T has been a surprise to me to see how joyously children anticipate the cele¬ 
bration of any special day, no matter how trivial. No sooner is Christmas 
over than they begin planning for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and 
so on. No doubt it is the joy of doing certain things on certain days because 
every one else is doing them. One easily understands why Christmas, Easter 
and such days .are anticipated, but there seems to be merely the joy of social 
participation as an explanation of some of the lesser days. 

Why Celebrate Any But the Mast Significant? The fact that children 
enjoy these days so much that for weeks sometimes they work ahead and plan 
for them is reason enough for giving the events special significance. Whatever 
stimulates constructive activities and wholesome employment in children is 
worth notice, and parents may secure really educational activities by the encour¬ 
agement of these interests. Parents need not do anything about the celebration 
of certain days; the children themselves will take care of that. 

Maintaining a Sense of Proportion. Of course it would be ridiculous for 
the parent to make as much of Hallowe’en as of Christmas. Some days are 
days of great significance in human development, and should receive much 
more emphasis than the lesser ones. Below we shall consider each in turn, 
trying to show (1) what children find to enjoy in the day, (2) what are the 
spiritual values in it, and (3) what helpful activities the child may derive from it. 

Days of Great Spiritual Significance. Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter 
hold the most valuable and fundamental truths for us. These are so important 
that parents and children alike spend much time in anticipation. 

Easter and Thanksgiving are particularly valuable as offering opportunities 
to emphasize man’s relations to God. The particular way we celebrate these days 
depends upon the religion of the family. It is too bad, however, if parents allow 
trivial gifts, new clothes and eating to be the absorbing ideas, whatever their 
religion may be. 

Stories of the seasons which culminate in these two days are best developed 
through the use of scrap books. 

THANKSGIVING 

Miss Abbot’s article suggests songs and music appropriate to this day. 

All hand work which has had to do with the preserving of fruits, preparation of 
clothing, transportation and storing of fuel, the preparation of the home for the 
coming winter may culminate in Thanksgiving. 




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3" X 6" Colored 
Construction Paper 




Markings of Pumpkin 
Drawn with Colored Crayon 



OTHER THANKSGIVING SUGGESTIONS 




















































Early Childhood 


159 


A scrap book telling the whole story may be made, or several separate books, 
such as a booklet telling the story of our fruit cellar, a clothing book, a house 
book—each page a room in our house; or a family book showing father, mother, 
brother, sister and baby. Pictures for these books may be given to the child, either 
already cut out or to be cut, according to the age and ability of the child. 

Other Hand Work. Additional suggestions may include making clay fruits, 
drying and painting them to go into baskets; crayoning pictures of fruit to cut 
out and put into picture baskets; building churches with the blocks; making the 
inside of the church; painting church windows by floating colors (see section on 
painting), and drawing window frames about them or pasting on strips of paper 
for frames; making place-cards for the Thanksgiving table; making nut baskets 
to place at individual places, and arranging other decorations for the family 
gathering. 

EASTER 

What is it to the child ? It is a time when every one is glad, and he is glad, 
too. The message of the Church is quite beyond his grasp; it may even contain 
hurt for him, because of his ignorance of death, but the message of great joy in 
the return of life is quite within his comprehension, and already he is full of its 
pleasure. The going of the snow, the melting ice, the budding trees, the dande¬ 
lions, the robins, the eager play out-of-doors with fewer wraps, have all filled 
him with joyous excitement and pleasure. To help him to realize this season of 
“wake up” to its fullest, with the realization of God as the life-giving force, is 
to make Easter an uplifting good for the child. 

How shall he participate ? 

By planting and tending a few seeds in a pot. 

By sprouting seed on a dampened flannel. 

By enjoying Easter eggs and Easter baskets. 

By making and sending Easter messages. 

By hearing songs and stories of spring and renewed life and prayer music. 

What about Easter presents? So much that is suggestive of presents con¬ 
fronts the child in the stores weeks before Easter that it is hard to keep away 
from this idea. If we help him to prepare baskets in which to receive his eggs 
or candy, or in which to place those he gives to others, we may counteract the 
harm that threatens. Remember always to let the emotion to go over into con¬ 
structive action. Let the child try to copy for himself the things he sees and 
wants in the stores. Let him buy what he can earn and save for, and give him 
at Easter just enough to make him feel that he has not been neglected. 

What about the Easter rabbit ? It is a lie, and an unnecessary lie. Though 
it is a serious wrong, we can all see an excuse for our tale of the stork, but 




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whatever fun it is, there is no reason for the rabbit story. However, children 
love to talk of the Easter rabbit just as much when they know that rabbits do 
not really lay eggs as other children who have been misinformed. There is an 
added joy of superiority because they really know. 

Hand Work. Permitting children to dye their own Easter eggs doubles the 
joy in having them. There is the joy in the activity, the pleasure of seeing 
colors come, as. well as discovering how Easter eggs come to be different from 
other eggs. 

For dyeing eggs, get any one of the reliable dyes from the drug store. Pro¬ 
tect all surfaces well with newspaper, and protect the child with old clothes or an 
apron. Follow directions for dyeing eggs. 

Use the colors left over for experiments with old bits of white muslin. Dye 
clear colors; then try mixtures. These bits, when dried and ironed, will make 
lovely doll dresses; see Miss Barbour’s kimona pattern for doll dresses. 

Baskets. Use any of the designs the child has learned, or show a new one. 

Material: Colored cover paper. 

Water-color paper which he may paint. 

Drawing paper crayoned. 

Paper fasteners; since eggs are likely to be put in these baskets, be 
sure to fasten on the handles securely. 

Stout wrapping paper. 

Decorations: Depends on the age and ability of the child. 

Little chickens, rabbits, flowers may be traced or cut, or, if the child 
is young, the mother may give him some already cut-out to 
arrange. 

Table Decorations for Easter Breakfast. The following suggestions will be 
found extremely helpful: 

Cards: Simple cards colored by himself with cut-outs pasted on, or, for 
the older child, pictures traced on, and the whole painted or colored 
designs for small poster work may be used for these cards. 

Games: The child loves to hunt eggs, and so it is good to hide all about 
the house the eggs dyed the day before or some “wholesome candies” 
for eggs in the baskets he has made. 

Cooking: The older child loves to help set and decorate the table, and to 
pare Easter breakfast with special egg dishes. 

A beautiful way to center the Easter thoughts is to make an Easter Scrap 
Book. The little child pastes in pictures which have been cut out and given to 
him. The older child makes his book, decorates the cover, sews it together, and 
cuts and mounts the pictures himself. Between the three-year-old beginner and 




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the eight-year-old the amount of work varies. It is good to save the books from 
year to year, to review last year’s experience, and to note improvement. 

The subjects of pictures in this work should deal with the return of spring, 
and always contain a church picture to give it its religious bearing. 

CHRISTMAS 

This day, the day of all days for children, must have more detailed mention. 
There is a wealth of spiritual, social, aesthetic, dramatic and manual develop¬ 
ment to be derived from this season. Just as soon as Thanksgiving is over— 
often before it comes—children are anticipating this day of days, and long after 
it is over—even sometimes in midsummer—we find them still living over and 
dramatizing the Christmas experiences. 

This is the children’s day, and parents who recognize the great values and 
dangers of the time are going to govern themselves accordingly. Whatever 
presents they themselves give should have been made long before. There isn’t 
time now for elaborate preparations for others without taking time which be¬ 
longs to the children. Mothers will see to it that their nerves and poise are quite 
equal to the strain of the season’s excitement, and that the days of the vacation 
season will be joyous and happy because there are no frazzled nerves and tired 
bodies to be sensitive to the slightest misdemeanors of the children. Women who 
are not in the atmosphere of the home may afford this luxury if they will, but 
an earnest mother cannot, in justice to her children, go into all sorts of miscel¬ 
laneous entertainments and Christmas preparations. 

Santa Claus. The legend of Santa Claus may be the means of giving the child 
a rich and beautiful conception of love and service and joy, which will live as 
a working force through his whole life, or, improperly handled, it may be the 
means of destroying his faith in the honesty of his parents and in the truth 
underlying the more valuable stories we tell him—even of religious truths. “Oh, 
you said Santa Claus was real, and he ain’t. How do I know this Jesus story 
ain’t a lie, too,” exclaimed little Johnny. It all rests with his parents whether 
little Mary agrees with Johnny, or whether she agrees with Betty, who had just 
passed her first Christmas knowing who Santa Claus really is. Her mother 
asked, “Betty, what do you think about telling children there is a Santa Claus? 
Do you think it is wrong?” “Why, no, Mother, he is really true, just like as 
true as you and ‘daddy’, ’cause you and ‘daddy’ and lots of other kind people 
are Santa Claus.” This child passed her happiest Christmas making believe in 
Santa, writing him letters to send up the chimney, and helping him give gifts as 
of old. Only frequent slips in her conversation, which she hastily corrected, 
showed that she knew she was continuing a play. 




Early Childhood 


163 


It is the way children are taught to accept Santa Claus which determines 
whether the good old Saint is to be a lifelong joy or a lasting hurt. At the time 
we begin to talk of Santa, the child is living joyously in other imaginary lives. 
He has imaginary playmates; Peter Rabbit is real to him; his dolls are real; he 
gives the same life and feelings to everything about him. There are no abstract 
ideas of love, service and generosity, but these ideas are all mixed up with the 
people who show these traits. Santa Claus may be made to embody these great 
conceptions which the child could not otherwise get. Santa Claus should stand for 
all that is fine, generous, sacrificing, jolly, joy-giving. He gives because he wants 
happiness to reign through the land. He doesn’t give as a reward for goodness. 
As a symbol of parental love, he gives to good and bad alike. He is not a re¬ 
vengeful, punishing spirit, but purely the Spirit of Love. Parents make a mis¬ 
take to appeal to children to be good in order to receive from Santa. Of course, 
to set a prize to be earned, as is discussed in prizes and rewards, is another 
matter. Santa may be appealed to to reward effort, but not for punishment or 
revenge. 

Santa is a busy man; he needs helpers. Every little child who can make the 
least kind of gift for others becomes Santa Claus’s helper. He begins to take 
his place as a part of the spirit of Christmas. He finds that mother, father, 
brothers and sisters are all busy helpers. Thus, parallel with the myth, we build 
up in the child an idea of the loving labor and sacrifice every one is making at 
the Christmas season. He becomes a part of the great spirit of good-will. If 
he has been helped to regard Santa Claus as the symbol of all this, and has not 
been fed up with all the impossible tales of coming down the chimney and the 
like, he will realize that there has been no lying to him—merely a symbolic way 
of telling about a real thing. 

I do not mean to say that the child is not to have any of the chimney stories; 
he will pick them up elsewhere, if not at home. The story may be told: ‘'They 
say he comes that way; I myself never caught him in the chimney; what do you 
think about it?” This leaves it easy for the child to believe as he pleases. 

I cannot believe that it is necessary to rob children of all the joyous partici¬ 
pation with other children in the belief of Santa Claus. One of my early play¬ 
mates converted her family to this view when she came home from a playmate’s 
house and threw herself upon her mother, crying, “Why doesn’t Santa Claus 
come to our house? I’ve been just as good as I could be.” This child was loaded 
with toys, but Santa did not bring them. Her dismayed parents suggested her 
hanging up her stocking that night. The nickel she found in it gave her more 
joy than all her other gifts. The next babies in that family enjoyed regular 
visits from Santa. 




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Early Childhood 


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The Christmas Tree. Shall Santa bring the tree or not? This does not seem 
to be a vital question, but it is doubtless better that this belief should not persist 
after the child has reached an age to anticipate a tree. The three-year-old 
will recall the tree Santa Claus brought him last year, and this will encourage 
anticipations for the next Christmas. By his fourth year he will be eager and 
excited over the trees he sees in the market, and will beg for one. He may be 
given the choice of letting Santa bring it all beautifully decorated or of buying 
it and decorating it himself. The chances are he will choose the latter course. 
It may be brought home and kept outside where he may enjoy it, dance around 
it, hang all sorts of colored papers or crude hand work on it. Santa can just as 
well bring it in from the back porch and decorate it after the child has gone 
to bed as easily as he can bring it from the store. 

Children a little older are inspired to use their spare time in devising decor¬ 
ations to be used on the tree. These may be kept in boxes until the day before 
Christmas, that hardest of all days to live through, when the children may bring 
it in, set it up in state, and joyously decorate it. Your ideas of art and theirs, 
of course, may differ. After bedtime you will find it necessary to rearrange or 
remove a few decorations and often add more, but the work of decorating the 
tree and the joyous dances about it which are sure to follow provide the most 
wonderful excuse for having the tree at all. It spreads the fun over two days, 
the tree getting its full share, instead of pouring it all into a short hour. 

The afternoon before Christmas, with its dances and spontaneous games 
about the tree, followed by the lighted tree, the quiet Christmas songs and music, 
or suitable phonograph records, crowned by the Christmas story told as St. 
Luke gave it, may be the most beautiful thing about Christmas. The real mean¬ 
ing of the season, with all the aesthetic beauties which the ages have given this 
season, has a chance here which would be utterly lost next morning in the joy of 
Christmas gift getting. After dinner the stockings are hung, and the great ex¬ 
citement is toned down by the quieting influence of Christmas Eve. 

Here are a few decorations which the children may make themselves. With 
the addition of large colored balls, strings of tinsel, and some “snow,” quite 
lovely effects may be produced. All the merry gew-gaws for which people spend 
so lavishly only add to the confusion and clutter of the tree. In simplicity is 
beauty; this we should aim for. 

A Sane Christmas. Little June had had a poor home. At the age of three 
she lost that and was adopted into an adoring family, eager to make up to her 
for all she had missed. For days before Christmas the various members had 
entertained her with tales of what Santa would bring to a good child. June 
was naturally a quiet good little girl, but the bottled-up emotion of looking for- 



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ward to such pleasures, coupled with the added strain of giving no offense to 
Santa, well nigh wore out her self-control. Christmas morning, the center of 
attention, June received her gifts. Each member was so eager to make her 
joyful that they drew her attention in every direction with “Oh, June, see what 
a lovely doll!” It was June here, June there, and “What do you say, June?” 
with no time to choose and enjoy what most appealed to her. Her cheeks were 
soon flushed, her eyes unnaturally bright; she showed all kinds of danger sig¬ 
nals. But the eager family, unaware of the great emontional strain, gave no heed, 
until suddenly when a big brother handed her a lovely toy she screamed and 
threw it in his face. Then she kicked and threw the other toys about until her 
mother,, realizing the mistake, took her up in her arms to her own room, there to 
quietly forget all about her tree in doing something else. 

This was an extreme case, but how many similar scenes occur in many homes 
each Christmas morning. Children quarrel over their toys, and in every way 
behave like little “demons.” When night comes, if by good chance the excite¬ 
ment has worn the children to sleepiness, instead of the more usual nervous 
wakefulness, parents drop exhausted with the remark, “Thank goodness, that’s 
over for another year.” 

Look back to our fundamentals in the establishment of desirable habits. Can 
we find any reason or excuse for such days? Such tense, nervous excitement, 
bringing with it scoldings, punishments, injustices are all wrong, and if Christmas 
must mean these we are better off without it. 

How shall we manage to have the right kind of Christmas ? Surely Christmas 
should be the crowning joy day in every family. 

First, we should fix clearly in mind things Christmas must stand for, as well 
as the kind of situations in which fundamental habits we are seeking to form must 
grow. 

Christmas stands for: 

1. Love shown by parents to children (in understanding and control, quiet and 
sympathy, as well as gifts), and by children to each other. 

2. It should stand for the Greater Love of this family for those less fortunate, 
and include some acts to express this—an outlet to the emotions we seek to 
stimulate. 

3. It should furnish a rich background of spiritual enjoyment, of happiness. 

In the memories of these days parents should be seen as the poised, quiet, happy 

sharers in this great day of the children’s year; should be felt as a strong, sure, 
sane, stabilizing influence, securing the memory of a perfect day. 

A Common Folly. Parents save up many surprises with which to over¬ 
whelm the children at one time. Money js wasted in knickknacks of all sorts 



Early Childhood 


167 


VBSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS 





























































































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“just to make fun for Christmas morning.” Parents forget that the simplest 
things, and few of them, make all the fun necessary for the child. The thought 
in most families where adoring relatives send in surprises of all kinds should 
be rather how to select and choose from the many surprises the most worthy and 
wholesome ones. Of the Christmas tree decorations more will appear later. 
It is wise either to put away for a “rainy day” many of the gifts coming through 
the mail and to remove from sight as soon as possible such gifts as have to be 
presented Christmas morning because relatives are present at the tree. 

In buying presents for the children wise parents will spend money only for 
the few most essential and durable ones. One or two greatly desired gifts, as 
the doll in its carriage, a coveted train and track, with the other things sent in 
by friends, will be quite enough to make a joyous Christmas for the unspoiled 
child. He has a chance really to drink in the joys of his gifts by concentrated 
attention instead of jumping hysterically from one to another of many things, 
until by the time he is through he is too worn out to enjoy any of them. 

Another device helps to scatter the excitement. Instead of loading the 
child at one time, he finds joy in getting gifts at various times throughout the day. 

It will be found a beneficial thing to control the excitement somewhat by 
letting the children direct themselves entirely; letting them find their own presents 
and open them without knowing that eyes are concentrated upon them; by not 
handing out another gift until the first is examined and laid aside of the child’s 
own accord; and third, by keeping the “oh’s” and “ah’s” of the adults’ pleasure 
within bounds. The joyous, uninfluenced expression of the child’s pleasure, 
aside from the controlled joy of the whole celebration, is ample reward for the 
adults’ efforts. Try it and see. The grown people who know all the difficulties 
and strains of these festivities are the only ones capable of exercising the control 
necessary to make the memories of these times unalloyed joy. We can’t expect 
it of the children, and we have no right to subject them to the strains. 

PATRIOTIC DAYS 

There is so little that young children can really comprehend about patriotism 
that it is a mistake to try to teach much. Give every opportunity to participate 
with others in these days by decorating with flags, giving the simple story of why 
we celebrate the day, and teaching a simple flag salute and one of the patriotic 
songs. The child may revel in the joy of the day, however, especially the 
Fourth of July, by getting ready for it—earning and saving pennies to buy a flag, 
making paper flags to use at home, also soldier caps, belts, drums, etc. 

The story of little Marian and her flag will illustrate how much more chil¬ 
dren value things they have made themselves than those they buy. Marian was 





Early Childhood 


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in a kindergarten of fifty children. Word was sent in by the principal that the 
kindergarten children were to carry flags and go with the big children to greet 
the President of the United States, who was to pass the school. The excitement 
was likely to spoil the day’s program, so the teacher quickly discarded her plan 
and made a new one to make the most of the occasion. She told who the Presi¬ 
dent was and the occasion of this greeting. They had a school march and gave 
the flag salute. Then all the teachers and children consulted together to see 
what they should do about flags; only about a dozen were to be had. Of course 
the children suggested making them, and after many had offered suggestions 
as to the procedure, they went to work. When the time came each child had 
what represented his best effort at flag-making to carry to the front. Little 
Marian was selected to present the flowers to the President, and she was lifted 
into his machine and greeted by him as she did it. She looked very solemn, and 
as soon as the children were dismissed she rushed home, and throwing herself 
into her mother’s arms, wept bitterly. Her amazed mother found the cause to 
be that in giving the flowers to the President she lost her flag, “the flag I made 
all myself, mother,” and no offers of flags at the store could console her. Only 
the chance to make another eased the situation. 

How to Make Flags. For little children the stripes may be drawn. They 
color the stripes and the blue field, pasting on a few stars; or, they may paste 
red stripes, a blue field, and stars on white paper. 

These may be fastened by thumb tacks to a stick. 

Older children may crayon white cloth and fasten to a broomstick or other 
stick. 

It is wise always to have a real flag to copy. There is the problem of getting 
the stick on the proper side, the starry field right end up, and the proper number 
of stripes. No other exercise can give better familiarity with the flag. 

In the stress we place upon patriotic ideals it is wise to emphasize the coun¬ 
try’s need for men and women who love and serve their country, who can think 
clearly and carry out their plans—creators and executors. For the child the 
patriotic emphasis is upon his immediate neighborhood playmates, who can sacri¬ 
fice personal gain for the good of his group. Our soldiers in the society of to¬ 
morrow, in which our children shall play their parts, may not be called upon, let 
us hope, to serve their country in war, so we purposely put little emphasis on 
plays dealing v/ith soldiers and warfare. Because these are dramatic children, if 
left alone they might play soldier. We cannot prevent it if we would, but we 
can select what elements are of value to emphasize in soldier plays. 

Soldier Caps. Use properly folded newspaper or wrapping paper, news¬ 
paper size, to make caps to wear. 



Early Childhood 


171 


Decorations. Fringe three layers of tissue paper: red, white and blue, and 
roll into a tassel for the tops of the cap. 

Mount red, white and blue cockades on the sides, decorate with stars, etc. 
Let the children work out many ways. 

Parades. Let children make their costumes—paper for the smaller ones, 
cheesecloth for older ones. Decorate wagons, kiddie cars, scout runners with 
flags, cheesecloth wound about wheels, handles, etc., and have a parade. The 
six- and seven-year-olds may plan some songs, stories of the day, and salutes. 

There is little time for idle mischief while preparations are being made, and 
all the suppressed excitement can have a legitimate outlet in the parade, especially 
when adults help out in the marching. These neighborhood affairs have many 
advantages for adults and children alike. 

ST. VALENTINE’S DAY 

Children’s joy in this day is in the exchange of valentines, no matter how 
crude. This furnishes unlimited opportunity for occupation for days ahead, and 
may be turned to good account by parents, if they appreciate the values of 
the work. Too often children turn out valentine after valentine, carelessly made, 
each new one with no sign of improvement over the last. Here the mother must 
help him to see the need for improvement. Always the child should do his best, 
though his best may not appear much to any one else. Careless work forms bad 
habits, and it wastes time and material; the child should early learn this. How¬ 
ever, what may look like waste to us may be an honest use of material. 

Valentines. Here are some suggestions for valentines, in case the child needs 
such help. 

Paper lace from candy boxes or lace doilies may be used with pictures; flowers 
cut from wallpaper books or colored magazine pages may be mounted on various 
shaped and variously colored pasteboard. 

The “surprise” forms described on page 264, under title of “Snow Stars,” 
may be used to make lace for these valentines. 

Very dainty backgrounds may be made by using water-color washes over a 
good water-color paper. Lace and pictures can be mounted on these. 

To raise parts of the valentine higher than others, the child can fold a strip 
of stiff paper, as shown in the illustration—forward, back, forward, back, securing 
the ends with paste under the part to be raised. 

There are nice problems for the child to solve in making his valentines 
stand up. 

Lacing ribbons through sev.eral pasteboard hearts and securing the ends is 
another problem. 



172 


The Foundation Library 



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Early Childhood 


173 



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174 


The Foundation Library 


Children also try to make the envelopes in which to send their valentines. 
In the illustrations are some suggestions. 

Save valentines from year to year as guides in helping the child to work out 
his own problems each year. 


MAY DAY 

Values. This day has much the same joy as Valentine’s Day. It may be 
made especially valuable educationally by helping the child to make as pretty 
and as strong baskets as he is capable of producing. He should know the names 
of the flowers with which he fills them. May-day baskets should have longer 
handles than other baskets and be fastened securely, since they are to hang on 
door knobs. 

BIRTHDAYS 

Last, but not least, comes the child’s own special day—his birthday. It is a 
day of particular celebration. 

It is a strange and unnatural child who is not thrilled at the idea of a birth¬ 
day. One’s own is always far more exciting than any other, but a chance to 
celebrate the birthday of any member of the family is thoroughly enjoyed. A 
cake and candles with ice cream or a special dessert is often all that is necessary 
to make it a success, but these happy family occasions should always be treasured. 
They are pleasant memories when the family is grown and its members are far 
apart, and a desire to help make it a success brings out all the unselfishness in 
a child at the time. On his birthday each member of the family takes his place 
as a special individual and receives his special attention. It is a good exercise 
for the rest to forget themselves for the one day in the happiness that they can 
give to others. 

For each child it is well to make him feel that this is his day to make others 
glad he was born, because of the happiness he can give to others. Instead of 
the “getting” idea, which is sure to dominate, the parents should help him think 
of the giving, too. A party is his chance to give joy to others, to make them 
have a good time, etc. 

The same cautions about giving presents should prevail here as at Christmas, 
—a few well selected gifts of the most needed things, but not showers. 

Perhaps this is the best time for the mother to give the party, but even here, 
more often than not, it is wise to let the child plan his own party, picnic or enter¬ 
tainment. A variety of celebrations is advocated because if a child always expects 
a party some year when this is not possible there is too keen a disappointment. 
Always encourage and preserve the child’s natural joy in the simple things. 



Early Childhood 


175 













































































176 


The Foundation Library 


CHILDREN’S PARTIES 

There are two kinds of children’s parties: 

1. Those which the mother gives for the child, and 

2. Those which the child himself gives. 

The first kind educationally is good once in a great while. A child is often 
invited to parties at other houses, and frequently he receives prizes and favors. 
The mother finds it wise to give parties in return, for these courtesies should 
be exchanged. But there is really no need for them oftener than once a year, 
and seldom as often as that. 

Dangers. Elaborate parties may spoil the children’s joy in the simpler ones. 
Your own child’s party may do little harm, but when your child has attended 
many others of the same kind to which he is invited you realize that he will have 
had more than is good for him. Food which is rich and in too great abundance, 
eaten at a time to spoil his appetite for meals, is usually the accompaniment of 
these parties. 

Perhaps the story of a few of one little girl’s parties will illustrate the second 
class.* These are real, from the standpoint of the joy the child herself gets and 
what her friends get from them. One child refused to go to an elaborate party 
that she might come to Dorothy’s Valentine party. Such parties are a real 
education for the child, as you will see. Her parties usually start thus: 

“Mother, may I have a party at such and such a time ?” 

“Certainly, if you will get it ready. I’ll help you all I can, but I’m too busy 
just now to do much.” 

“Oh, thank you mother. You needn’t worry, I’ll do it.” Then she makes 
her plans. Often she spreads the news before the invitations are out, and 
before long she may have the whole neighborhood in after school hours helping 
to get ready. 

Her first affair of this kind was given just after her fourth birthday. A 
simple birthday party, with the gifts, made it so delightful an experience that she 
wanted to repeat it right away. Her mother explained to her that there could 
be no presents, of course. 

First, she wanted the children invited for her. “But this is your party; you 
must invite them yourself.” After talking over invitations, she decided what to 
say. She couldn’t write, so she told her mother what to print for her. It was 
so simple that her mother had to reenforce the invitations over the telephone. 
It read: “Come to my party to-day.” Dorothy laboriously copied the printing. 
Then, dressed in her play clothes, in rubber boots and under an umbrella, she 


•Author’s Unpublished Records. 




Early Childhood 


177 














































178 


The Foundation Library 



carried it around for all to read who were to come. The one invitation sufficed 
for all the guests. 

Soon came the time to make provision for food. Her bank held enough 
pennies for graham crackers and a banana for each guest. She counted bananas 
by putting a clothespin for each person and the proper number of pennies beside 
each clothespin; an arrangement over the telephone with the grocer fixed the price 
at two cents each. She then took her ten cents extra for the box of crackers, and 
went all alone to the grocer with her order. (She didn’t know that because this 
was the first shopping expedition alone her mother was at a safe distance to 
watch her.) On her return she put a paper plate for each clothespin and folded a 
napkin in it; then she piled all her plates on her table, ready to use, and took her 
nap. When the guests arrived, she received them herself, her mother being one 
of the guests of honor. 

Her last party, about four years later, was a Valentine party. It took her 
two weeks to make and distribute the invitations, the place cards and a Valentine 
surprise for each member. The neighborhood entered joyously into her plans 
and helped in the preparations. She wrote down her own list of games, checked 
up the number of prizes needed and purchased these, arranged the table, and did 
all the work. This time she ordered ice cream and cake—her mother’s gift. She 
expected to make her own cookies and sandwiches, heart-shaped, and to make the 
fruit gelatin, but an unexpected visitor from out of town prevented this. 

There have been all sorts of parties involving various kinds of purchases, 
handwork preparations and some cooking, grading in complexity from the crude 
first party to those with more elaborate plans; and each party has not only been 
a social joy but a practical lesson in numbers, writing, cooking, buying, organiz¬ 
ing and entertaining, as well. 

It is too bad that the parents’ love for giving a party should rob the child 
of the satisfaction which he might get from giving his own parties. 

It is interesting to note that Dorothy has always specified for every party, 
“Don’t dress up.” The children have come for a good time. 











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Later Childhood 


179 



arteii 


T HE kindergarten is a school for the child between 
the ages of four and six years. Froebel, its origi¬ 
nator, believed that such an institution was needed 
to supplement the home, since the child has needs dur¬ 
ing this period which the home can but partially meet 
and which the school does not recognize. 

These needs arise from the development of his play 
instincts, and require for their full satisfaction the com¬ 
panionship of children of his own age, and the oppor¬ 
tunity for experimentation in larger variety than the 
home can furnish. The kindergarten should, therefore, 
fill the gap that exists between the home and the school. That its work fur¬ 
nishes a real basis for that of the grades has been confirmed by practical ex¬ 
perience, as well as by more recent study of the child’s development. As a result, 
the kindergarten has been adopted by all progressive countries. 

While the daily program varies in the different kindergartens, and the ideal 
one is not so formal as the one described below, the description of one which 
is fairly typical will show in what way it can add to home training and make 
a real “child garden,” as the name implies. 

A Kindergarten Visited. The purpose and method of the kindergarten can 
be most readily understood by a consideration of its daily procedure. An imag¬ 
inary visit will assist in making its purposes clear. The visitor does not wonder 
that the children enjoy a place with so homelike an atmosphere. Here, on each 
side of a fireplace, are low cupboards that contain quantities of play material of 
different kinds, and at each end of the room are several small tables, put to¬ 
gether so as to form a large one, upon which the children use the material. Un¬ 
der the window seats of the large bay-window are drawers filled with picture 
books and mounted pictures which the children are free to use at certain times. 
On the opposite side of the room is the piano, and at the end opposite the fire¬ 
place is a sand table, that, at this time, contains the children’s representation of 
a nearby park. Under two of the windows are plant stands, on which are boxes 
filled with ferns or blooming plants. Over the fireplace hangs a picture, and on 
the walls are pictures of children at play. 

The room shows many evidences of the children’s recent efforts. On a 
small table is a collection of fall fruits and vegetables, which they modeled the 
week before and painted in appropriate colors. On a window sill is a tray of 
envelopes made by the children, to hold the assortment of seeds they have col- 














180 


The Foundation Library 


lected for their spring planting. On a screen is a festoon of autumn leaves, 
and paper cuttings of leaves of different kinds. The ledge above the blackboard 
is decorated with sprays of bittersweet leaves and berries, and below it hang 
festoons made of rose hips and pumpkin seeds in alternation. On the mantel is 
a vase containing barberry twigs, with their brown leaves and scarlet berries, 
and on the piano is another containing milkweed stalks, with the pods just 
bursting into feathery whiteness. The decorative material the children have 
gathered on their walks together to the nearby gardens, fields and roadsides, 
along with the vegetables, seeds and fruits, is a part of the harvest which the 
autumn brings—the harvest of beauty, which has been used for the adornment 
of their playroom in ways of their own suggesting. It is evident that through 
their play the children have shared in the thought and effort of mankind dur¬ 
ing the autumn season. 

The Program of Exercises. The work of the morning gives further evi¬ 
dence of their participation in the thought of the season. At a signal, the chil¬ 
dren bring their chairs to the circle for the opening period of conversation, 
song and story. The song of greeting is followed by several autumn songs of 
their own choosing. Since it is Monday, the children are bubbling over with 
stories of their week-end experiences, which they are encouraged to tell. The 
kindergartner tries to connect each child’s contribution with some phase of 
their previous work or play. In order to connect the children’s thought of the 
country more closely with their own lives, she tells a story of the little boy who 
learned that, although the farmer took many things from the farm to the city 
children, he always had to take back from the city some things that his children 
at home needed. She then asks the children whether they would like to tell this 
story with their blocks. The suggestion meets with ready assent. 

Since the period of conversation and story has occupied nearly half an hour, 
a period of games follows, that the children may have opportunity for exercise 
before proceeding with their building. The memory of park playground ap¬ 
parently lingers in the children’s mind, as the merry-go-round is the first game 
asked for. In this, the children form two circles, one within the other, both 
facing inward. The children in the inner circle join hands and form the merry- 
go-round, while those on the outer circle “ride,” each one placing his hands on 
the shoulders of a child in the inner circle, ready for the dancing around the 
circle together. This suggests the dancing of the leaves, as the next game asked 
for is “Like a Leaf or Feather,” in which the children imitate dancing leaves. A 
sense game with fruits and vegetables follows, and “The Apple Man” brings 
the period to a close. 

The children now form into two groups, one of which goes to the farther 





Later Childhood 


181 


table to continue work upon several sets of doll furniture, to be used in the 
near future for the furnishing of a doll house. The children in the remaining 
group move the small tables away, leaving a clear floor space across the end 
of the room. Six of the children are selected to make the farmer’s fields and 
buildings at one end of the space, while the others build the city houses and 
stores at the other. The children get from the cupboards the enlarged fifth and 
sixth gift blocks, and begin their building on the floor. Since they have used 
this material many times, it is not long before the farm buildings are ready in 
the one space, and the city street, with homes and stores, in the other. The chil¬ 
dren then represent the farmer taking his produce to the city, by means of a 
toy horse and wagon, and his returning to his home with his wagon laden with 
articles from the city stores. The other group of children is invited to see the 
city and country picture. The “picture” in question is left on the floor to be 
enjoyed further. The session closes with a period of songs, finger rhymes and 
stories retold by the children. 

How It Meets the Children’s Needs. To understand the true significance of 
the kindergarten, it is necessary to consider the means and methods by which 
it meets the children’s varying needs. 

Among these, the need for companionship with children of the same age is 
one of the most insistent. In the home, the child is too often either a monarch 
or a subject. In the kindergarten, he is an individual among his equals. From 
his play there—at one time with a little group, perhaps of his own choosing, and 
at another as a member of the whole—he experiences the joy of mingling with 
his fellows and is stimulated to his best effort by the opportunity for comparing 
his own achievements with those of his companions. The joys of companion¬ 
ship are often interrupted, however, because the members of the little company 
have not yet learned the laws of right conduct. The children learn these laws 
readily, however, by the experience of losing favor with their playmates if 
they offend. It is through such experiences that they come to realize right con¬ 
duct as a means to a desirable end—happiness in their play together. Many of 
the kindergarten exercises afford opportunity to prove this, but none more so 
than the games, because they are so largely co-operative. In the playing of these 
in the right spirit, the children’s joy in each other’s companionship reaches its 
height. 

Some Purposes of the Games. It is because the games meet so many of the 
children’s needs that they deserve especial attention. Among these are the 
physical ones. The period from three to six years is one of such rapid growth 
that energy is generated faster than it can be used. This is the reason why chil¬ 
dren run, jump and dance in sheer joy in the activity. It is for the purpose of 




182 


The Foundation Library 


affording the right exercise for this overflowing energy, which cannot be re¬ 
pressed without injury, that the various running, skipping and dancing games 
have been evolved. Since these are necessarily rhythmic, they not only aid the 
children in gaining control over their movements, but become the means by 
which they learn to understand and express music on this rhythmic side. 

To give opportunity for such expression, exercises in which children “do 
what the piano tells them to do,” that is, march, skip, dance, or run, have come 
into vogue. With such exercises as a basis, the children have no difficulty in 
learning the games of another group,—those in which they dramatize the activi¬ 
ties of adults—of the mother in the home, the farmer in the field, or the car¬ 
penter or blacksmith in his shop. These not only satisfy the imitative instinct, 
but acquaint children with fundamental forms of human effort, and the place 
and value of these in life. They have, therefore, a double social value—that 
gained from a knowledge of the activities imitated, and from the children’s 
playing them together. 

No list of kindergarten games could be considered complete that did not 
include still other games—those in which children measure their strength, skill, 
or alertness with that of others. Of these, such games as “Drop the Handker¬ 
chief,” “Dodge Ball,” and the many sense games and hiding games are examples. 
These serve to stimulate children in new ways and contribute a new element to 
their enjoyment. In view of the varying needs which the games meet as a 
whole, and the opportunity for happy comradeship which they afford, it is not 
surprising that they should be rated among the most valuable of the agencies 
which the kindergarten employs for the child’s development. 

Purposes of the Work with Materials. Because it furnishes the child with 
occupation as well as companionship, the kindergarten meets another of his 
fundamental needs. It does this by means of its organized play material. This 
was originally devised by Froebel, but has been improved in recent years, as the 
result of a better understanding of the child’s development. It consists of a 
series of educative playthings, which Froebel termed “gifts,” and plastic mate¬ 
rials, such as sand, clay, paper, etc., by means of which the children can carry 
out their own play motives. The gifts consist of a set of balls, one of each of the 
six standard colors; of a set of the fundamental forms—the sphere, cube and 
cylinder; of four sets of cubes, each differently divided for building purposes; 
and of several series of tablets, sticks, rings, lentils for plat representation. The 
plastic materials—sand, clay, paper, etc.,—are used for modeling, folding, cut¬ 
ting and weaving. These lines of work Froebel designated as occupations. The 
gifts and occupations were intended to complement each other and to form a 
system of play material. The general purpose is to provide material that will 




Later Childhood 


183 


keep pace with the child’s advancing intelligence by its own increasing complexity. 
The play with this material satisfies the kindergarten child, because it gives 
him the opportunity to experiment and to carry out his own play pur¬ 
poses. The material can be used in numberless ways. If the kindergartner 
wishes to gain an insight into the interest and abilities of the different children, 
she allows them to choose their material and the use they wish to make of it. 
Equipped with such knowledge, she can plan work that will satisfy them and 
lead in right directions. 

If she wishes to know how fully the children have grasped the essential 
features of a house, and what power they have of expressing this, she will 
give them all the same material, and ask all to build a house, each in his own 
way. When these are completed, the houses are examined and their merits 
discussed. Because of the excellence of some one house, the children may all 
wish to build one like it. If the children’s technique needs improving, the 
kindergartner may direct the doing of this, calling attention to the way in 
which the blocks are placed to produce the best effect. If the children had 
difficulty in making some portion of the house, such as the roof, an exercise 
in the making of this would be likely to follow in the near future. 

At another time a few children may be selected to work out an idea to¬ 
gether—a garden or park on the sand table, perhaps. In this, the children 
agree upon the general plan of the representation, the best material to use and 
the part that each is to take. In the process, however, the children may dis¬ 
cover the need of additional material—blocks for a seat, colored lentils to 
represent the flowers in a bed, or paper to represent a tree in some way. 
Such an exercise leads to the doing of other and related things, such as the 
modeling of vegetables or the making of folders to contain garden pictures. 
These are a few of the many ways in which the children use the material to 
work out their own play interests. The work satisfies them, because it affords 
opportunity both for individual effort and for effort in common. It gives 
children a growing sense of power, and gives them a feeling of kinship with 
the workers of the field. The work with the material, too, ranks high among 
the agencies which the kindergarten employs. 

Other Needs Which the Kindergarten Meets. The child from three to six 
years has other needs which the kindergarten meets. One of these is the need 
for out-of-door work and play. For this the garden and nature excursions, 
to which many references have been made, furnish the best agencies. Owing 
to climatic conditions and the lack of space, the outdoor garden work is diffi¬ 
cult, if not impossible, in large cities. Outdoor games and walks are possible 
at certain seasons, and a knowledge of gardens, fields and roadsides, with the 




184 


The Foundation Library 


plant life common to them, can be gained from these. They also afford the 
opportunity for a knowledge of bird life, and of such pets as children in the 
neighborhood may have. Such knowledge is indispensable as a basis for sev¬ 
eral lines of work with the material. It is the care of plants and pets that 
children need to develop—the right attitude toward living things. In most 
kindergartens the plants in the kindergarten window box, the seeds which the 
children plant in spring and the goldfish in a globe are the only means by 
which the attitude can be cultivated. 

Since children wish to sing, even before their voices have evolved from 
the monotone stage, it is important that they should have also the right begin¬ 
nings in song. By the selection of songs that appeal to children’s interest the 
skillful kindergartner helps them to gain control of their voices and to sing 
with pleasing effect. She believes that the little repertoire of songs which she 
teaches them to sing as they might tell a story will form a nucleus from which 
will develop a love for beautiful music. Because the importance of right be¬ 
ginnings in music is increasingly appreciated, the musical work of the kinder¬ 
garten, both from the side of song and rhythm, has received increasing atten¬ 
tion in recent years. 

It is through the agencies mentioned—the games and songs, the play with 
material, the outdoor observation and the stories and rhymes—that the kinder¬ 
garten educates the child during the period when he needs a larger life than 
that of the home and a freer one than the school is yet willing to accord him. 
The school itself has gradually adopted these agencies, however, and hence it 
recognizes their value in the kindergarten and the significance of the kinder¬ 
garten as a whole, as it did not in the earlier years. As a result, the kinder¬ 
garten is being increasingly recognized as the true basis for the work that is to 
follow. 

From the program described, it is evident that nature observation has been 
emphasized, and that certain observations formed the thought basis of the work 
done. The different lines of work carried out—the play with material, the games, 
the songs and the stories—all served as means of expression of the children’s 
thought. 





















Later Childhood 


185 



What T)o (growing Qhildren Need? 

C HILD welfare experts consider the following necessary for the child’s best 
growth and development: 

Shelter: 

Decent, clean, well-kept house. 

Plenty of fresh air in the house, winter and summer. 

Warm rooms in cold weather. 

Separate bed, with sufficient bedclothes to keep warm. 

Pure, abundant water supply. 

A comfortable place to welcome friends. 

Has your child these? 

Food: 

Three good meals a day. 

Clean, simple, appetizing, well-cooked food. 

Meals at regular hours, and sufficient time for them. 

Dinner at noon for children under seven years of age. 

Has your child these? 


















































186 


The Foundation Library 


Clothing: 

Change of underclothes and nightgown at least weekly. 

A change of stockings at least twice a week. 

Warm underclothing and stockings in cold climates. 

Heavy coat, cap and mittens for cold weather. 

Shoes, free from holes, and long and wide enough. 

Foot protection against rain or snow. 

Has your child these? 

Health and Personal Habits: 

Hands and face washed before meals and at bedtime. 

Bafh every day, or at least once a week. 

Natural bowel movement every day. 

Teeth brushed at least twice a day (morning and night). 

Regular bed hour. 

Twelve hours of sleep at night, with open windows. 

Correct weight for height. 

Has your child these? 

Recreation and Companionship: 

A safe, clean, roomy place for outdoor and indoor play. 

At least two hours outdoor play every day. 

Constructive and suitable playthings and tools. 

Some one with sympathetic oversight to direct the play. 

The right sort of playmates. 

Has your child these? 

Education and Work: 

Schooling for at least nine months a year from seven to sixteen years 
of age. 

Not more than two hours of “chores” outside of school hours. 

Not enough work, either in school or out, to cause fatigue. 

Vacation work, if any, must allow ample opportunity for the proper 
amount of rest and recreation. 

Has your child these? 

Religious and Moral Training: 

Opportunity for religious training. 

Proper moral and spiritual influence in home. 

Teaching of standards of right and wrong in daily life. 

Has your child these? 

By Permission of United States Department of Labor, 

Children’s Bureau, Washington, D. C. 




Later Childhood 


187 


Score Cards 


T HERE are all sorts of ways of keeping score or records. When the 
mother has the idea, she will think of many ways herself growing out of 
the child’s interests. With a little three-year-old this worked beautifully. 
Her difficulty was in keeping her clothes entirely dry. She was given a long strip 
of soft gray paper with an envelope of white rabbits and orange carrots with a 
green leaf already cut out. Dry in the day time up until noon meant a white 
rabbit pasted on; dry until night meant a carrot. When her border was done she 
was very proud of it. A misstep meant an empty space to be filled in after the 
rest was done. It was filled in later because the finished card was to impress 
success and wipe out all feeling of failure. She made borders of Christmas trees 
alternated with red balls, and many others which help to correct other faults. 
She saved these as she made them, and put them in a little scrapbook. Besides 
the ideas of design, of neatness, and spacing that she acquired, she had a tangible 
record of real achievement through effort. 

I have spoken of records, suggesting the use of stars of all colors; other 
markers may be secured from the Dennison firm or at any stationer’s store. 

The record card may be made up in all kinds of ways. The child himself may 
help to cut and arrange pictures for decoration, or the mother may make the 
card. The card may even be used as the beginning of keeping accounts, to be 
spoken of later under “Number Work.” 

Guides were spoken of earlier. It will be well to go more into detail about 
these. 

The little child, of course, may not read these, but opposite printed words 
may go the picture which he can understand, or pictures alone may be used. By 
the age of five, though we do not wish to teach reading now, the child may learn 
to read these few words. By the age of six or seven, words alone may make up 
the guide cards. These guides are mostly home-made affairs to suit the situation. 
A very excellent one for the six-year-old may be had free by writing to the 
Child Health Organization of America, 370 Seventh Avenue, New York City, 
called the “Healthland Flyer.” Ask for a catalogue of their Health Charts; 
they have a great many excellent ones. It is prepared like a railroad time table, 
with a map of Healthland inside, with all stops marked, such as Orange Vale, 
Drinkwater Station, Hot Soup Springs, and many others. The train schedules 
are lists of duties to be performed at the various hours of the day, such as Bath- 
tubville, 7:00 A. M., East Toothbrush, 7:10, and so on through the list of before¬ 
breakfast duties. These are exceedingly clever, and may be used as they are or 
may suggest similar cards to be made in the home. 

One little child caused constant trouble by only partially washing her hands 



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by dabbling them under the faucets with no water in the bowl, and thus dripping 
dirty water all over the bowl and floor, and soiling the towels unnecessarily. She 
was completely broken of the bad habit and became perfectly reliable in every 
detail by having a card pinned beside the bowl for her to follow. She dictated 
the list while her mother wrote it down. The card is long since lost, but she 
yet counts her steps and follows the rules. The following is the list: 

TO WASH FOR MEALS 

1. Put the stopper in the bowl. 

2. Turn on hot and cold water until there is plenty in the bowl. 

3. Roll up your sleeves. 

4. Get your wash cloth. 

5. Wee it and wring it out, so the water can’t drip. 

6. Wash every part of your face. 

7. Look at it in the glass to see if you rubbed all over the face. 

8. Soap your cloth. 

9. Rinse the soap off. 

10. Rub every bit of your arms, wrists and hands, back and front. 

11. Use nail brush. 

12. Wipe out the bowl with your washcloth. 

13. Wring out the cloth and hang it up. 

14. Dry your hands thoroughly. 

15. Hang up the towel. 

16. Use your nail file. 

The Sleeping Chart. This is usually the responsibility of the mother, but the 
child can learn to read time and to mark down nights when she gets into bed on 
time. The reward for the proper hours at night may be the omission of the 
day nap when the child is old enough to drop them. This chart often shows 
Mary just why she has naps occasionally and enlists her willingness. 

Time Cards. Some children must learn to do a given task within a given 
time. Show the time on the clock, and show how far the hand may go while the 
task is being done. Give stars for every successful effort. If a child is used to 
dallying, give more time at first and gradually shorten it. He can see and mark 
his own success. 

For Sulking. One mother whose child was in the habit of pouting had an 
attractive, artistically-illuminated card made to help her in her morning duties. 
After every two or three directions, she wrote “smile” or put some funny thing 
to do to make her smile. This was changed from time to time. In this case the 
mother also worked diligently to find the physical cause for Mary’s sulkiness. 






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189 



Score Card Feeding 

Courtesy of Home Economics Department 
University of Wisconsin 


S CORE card of children’s diet from three to sixteen years of age. Guide 
for mother in proportioning meals. For child over seven to watch his 
own choices. 


Score 

Points 


1. If the child eats any food set before him. 5 

If he likes at least ten kinds of vegetables. 10 

2. If the child’s diet is adequate in the following respects. 85 

(a) For \y 2 pints to 1 quart whole milk a day. 35 


(If milk is skimmed, add extra milk fat to other foods in form 


of butter or cream.) 

(b) Adequate protein supply each day. 15 

(Should have at least 1 gram [30th of ounce] for each pound 
he weighs.) 

60% of protein should come from animal sources, which 
means that child from 3 to 6 should have at least two servings 
from the following: 

Egg (if it agrees) Meats (not fried) or fish (these 

Custard need not be served every day) 

Sponge cake Small serving of veal, chicken, beef 

Homemade cottage cheese liver (is also rich in vitamines) 
















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Swiss chard 

Cauliflower 

Turnips 

Celery (stewed until tender) 

Oyster plant 
Onions 


(c) Two generous servings daily of vegetables other than potatoes.. 20 
One of the foods in the lists marked with * should be served 
every day: 

^Tomatoes (canned) *Raw grated rutabaga *Head lettuce hearts 

*Raw grated carrots ^Chopped raw cabbage *Raw celety cabbage 

All foods marked f are valuable for the iron they contain; 
these are rich in vitamines: 
fSpinach f*String beans 

Carrots f*Peas 

Asparagus tips f*Cabbage 

Cooked rutabagas f*Beet greens 

Used occasionally with little children: 

Beets Parsnips 

Okra Egg plant 

Many of the grated foods may be used with lettuce without dressing or 

salads or used to garnish other dishes. 

(d) At least one serving a day of fruit (fresh if possible). 15 

*Oranges Dates 

*Grape fruit Apricots 

*Lemon Grapes 

Apples Peas 

fPrunes Plums 

(useful for supplying iron) Bananas (very ripe, or cooked) 

(e) Diet must have iron, found in the following: 

fEgg yolk fBeef fBeef juice 

(f) Energy-giving foods: 

Besides foods already listed, these are energy-giving foods. While 
important, they are no substitutes for foods given above; they may 
be added: 


fPotato (iron) 
Macaroni 
Bread 

fGraham bread (iron) 
Cereals 

fOatmeal (iron) 

Dried legumes 
Beans (iron) 
Molasses 
Jam and jelly 


Peas (iron) 

Lentils (iron) (must be thoroughly 
cooked and sieved for children un¬ 
der ten) 

Plain cookies 
Simple puddings 
Honey 
Bacon 

Cooking fat 





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191 


(g) Energy-giving foods in form of fats: 

Whole milk already provided for Cod-liver oil 

Butter Cream 

All valuable for vitamine content. - 

Score 100% 

The following points may be subtracted from the total score of 100 
for violating the following: Points 

(a) For tea or coffee, deduct. 10 

(b) Failure to drink at least five glasses of zvater each day, one on rising, 

deduct . 10 

(c) Failure to have a normal bowel movement each day, to eliminate the un¬ 

digested food residue, deduct. 10 

(d) Lunching between meals, deduct. 5 

The normal child should eat three meals a day, including an adequate 
breakfast. In special cases of undernourishment or overactivity, 
more frequent meals may be given, but usually less food instead of 
more is taken in more frequent meals. 

(e) For eating candy, besides the small amounts which may be permitted 


at regular meals, deduct. 5 

(f) For eating foods too rich for him, deduct. 5 

(g) For eating unsuitable meats, deduct. 5 


Tough cuts should be seared and cooked at a low temperature until 
thoroughly tender. Smoked or pickled meats, such as dried beef, ham, 
lean bacon, corned beef or sausage should be used only by the older 
child, if at all. 

(h) For eating raw or partially cooked starchy foods, such as insufficiently 
cooked breakfast foods, or unripe fruit, especially bananas (the latter 
are to be cooked, unless brown spots on their skins indicates their 


ripeness), deduct . 5 

(i) For eating hard or lumpy foods which he does not thoroughly chew 

(among these may be nuts, raisins, tough skins, and green corn), 
deduct . 5 


































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Chart Made to Guide the Child While Her Mother 









































































































































































































































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193 



memory guide cards—using a few points at first and adding more as needed—can 
be made from them. There are some named here which should already be habits. 


He should: 

Not fill the spoon more than half full. 

Never talk with food in his mouth. 

Chew with his mouth closed. 

Sit up straight at the table, never lounging back in his chair. 

Not rest his arms or elbows on the table. 

Wipe his mouth with his napkin before drinking from his glass, and after. 
Wipe his mouth often, to keep all food off his face. 

Not handle his nose, hair or legs while at the table. 

Refuse or accept with “Thank you” all food offered. 

Not break his bread up in tiny pieces or eat from a whole slice of bread. 
Drink from side of his soup spoon. 

Not put all his spoon into his mouth. 

Leave knife and fork properly on plate when through with them. 

Leave spoon in saucer of his cup when not in use. 

Keep bread crumbs on plate or bread-and-butter plate. 

Never put knife in his mouth. 

Use knife and fork correctly.* 


•The mere technic of using these is hard to acquire, and is often the cause of trouble. The mother 
should carefully watch each move she makes in handling her own spoon, fork, etc., and thus help, step by 
step, the child by such example. Practice without the actual use of food and later with water only results 
favorably in teaching the use of the spoon. 






























































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Teaching Qommon Qourtesies 

These Factors Enter. In this important discussion attention may be focused 
on several factors, as follows: 

1. Constant example of parents and older children. 

2. Use all situations possible in which opportunity occurs, such as playing 

tea parties and making “calls.” 

3. Saving the child’s feelings as much as possible before others when he 

makes mistakes—just as you save a guest’s embarrassment when he 
makes a mistake. 

4. Use private signals. Example: A father who touched his forehead with 

his finger reminded Bessie that she forgot to say “Thank you.” 

5. No nagging; indifference and continued neglect on the part of the child 

for serious offenses demands other treatment. 

6. Demand only a few necessary courtesies at a time. 

7. Count off on score only when a blunder could easily have been avoided. 

Children are often so absorbed in the unexpected that they do not even 
sense troubles. Do not punish when it comes from absorption in 
something else. 

By the age of seven the child should have formed the following habits: 

1. Greet with “How do you do, Mrs....,” usually with handshake or 

curtsy. 

2. Go behind people, if possible, or excuse one’s self for going in front 

Violation of this courtesy is too common. 











































Later Childhood 


195 


3. 

4. 

5. 

6 . 

7. 

8 . 
9. 

10 . 

11 . 

12 . 


13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

19. 

20 . 


Joyfully respond to requests, such as getting a pillow, shutting a door, etc., 
when asked. 

Wait until an older person goes through the door, and never pushing 
ahead. 

Of saying “Goodbye, Mrs....” 

On leaving after being entertained, taken for a ride, etc., to say, “I have 
had a pleasant time.” 

Say “Thank you” for every courtesy or gift. 

Answer questions nicely. 

Say “Thank you” when one inquires, “How are you to-day?” “I am 
very well, thank you.” 

Boys of seven always lift their hats or caps. 

Remove hats on entering building. 

Reply, “Yes, Mrs. B_,” or “No, Mrs. B_,” when addressed. This, 

of course, is drilled in every day by responses to mother, father, and 
others, in refusing food at table, etc. 

Should not talk when others are talking. 

Should not try to tell his stories, unless the visitors ask or show especial 
attention. 

Should not try to attract attention to himself away from others. 

If he must whisper, say “Excuse me.” 

On street cars: Give up seat to elders or a lady, help a woman on and 
off a car, and enter last. 

Learn to talk quietly on cars and in other public places. 

Learn not to attract attention in public places. 

Extend courtesies to neighbors and to the family, with no expectation 
of reward. 

You are going out to tea to-day. 

So mind your manners well; 

Let all accounts I hear of you 
Be pleasant ones to tell. 

Don’t spill your tea or crumb your bread, 

And don’t tease one another; 

And Tommy mustn’t talk too much, 

Or quarrel with his brother. 

Say “If you please,” and “Thank you, ma’am;” 

Come home at eight o’clock; 

And, Fanny, do be careful that 
You do not tear your frock. 



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I think it would be lots of fun 
To be polite to every one! 

A boy should lift his little hat, 

A girl should curtsy—just like that, 

And both should use such words as these, 

“Excuse me, sir,” and “If you please.” 

Not only just at home, you know, 

But everywhere that they would go. 

GOLDEN KEYS 
A bunch of golden keys is mine 
To make each day with gladness shine. 

“Good morning!” that’s the golden key 
That unlocks every door for me. 

When evening comes, “Good night!” I say, 

And close the door of each glad day. 

When at the table, “If you please,” 

I take from off my bunch of keys. 

When friends give anything to me, 

I use the little “Thank you” key. 

“Excuse me,” “Beg your pardon,” too, 

When by mistake some harm I do. 

Or if unkindly harm I’ve given, 

With “Forgive me” I shall be forgiven. 

On a golden ring these keys I’ll bind, 

This is its motto, “Be ye kind.” 

I’ll often use each golden key, 

And then a child polite I’ll be. 

Preparation to Meet Company. A score card to be thought over before 
company comes and checked up only after company has gone has advantages. 
Fines should not be enforced for forgetting here, because the excitement of 
company and the unexpected behavior of guests often throws the child en¬ 
tirely off his guard. Besides, he has not yet arrived at an understanding of the 
need for these courtesies. He doesn’t mind when people stumble over his feet 
or pass in front of him; why should others resent the act in him? The card 
will help him if he wishes help, but he must not be made unhappy, because he 
is a child and acts as a child normally acts. 

Watch every thoughtful act the child performs and praise him afterwards, 
to give him self assurance and ease next time. 




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197 


Rewards and Fines 

JT AW of Habit Formation. We have spoken of pleasure gained in the per- 
# formance of an act as the cause of repeating the act until it grows to be a 
habit; and, on the other hand, of pain in an act tending to prevent its recur¬ 
rence. There are many acts bringing with them no pleasure which the child can see, 
but which are of such vital importance in the establishment of necessary habits that 
they must be insisted upon by the child’s guardian. Not only regular attendance at 
the toilet, but frequently real muscular effort which the child only is capable of 
exerting; remembering to drink water often between meals; getting washed 
thoroughly before meals; good table manners, etc. Some of these may be estab¬ 
lished by careful watching and attendance upon the child; he may be sent away 
from the table and not allowed to return until clean, or corrected in a number of 
ways. But so often the mother has much else to think about; she cannot, for ex¬ 
ample, watch the number of drinks the child takes, and often the recurrence 
of offenses at the table is so frequent that it is almost impossible to avoid nagging 
so other means of correction must be found. A system of rewards frequently 
accomplishes the result most easily and with the happiest of feelings between parent 
and child. There is the great value also in giving a reward, or throwing the re¬ 
sponsibility for watching these things upon the child, and thus bringing about real 
development. 

When to Use Rewards. Rewards should be used only after real thought 
on the part of the parent, and should never be overdone or abused. They should 
be used only where most important habits must be established; where we would 
like to establish habits but do not wish to coerce and in establishing spontaneous 
courtesies which will mean freedom for the child in after life. A child should 
not expect to be rewarded for things which he knows he should do or which he 
sees as right. The things for which rewards are given should from time to time 
be changed. Rewards may be used to help the child where he is having his 
greatest struggle at this particular time. They are useful also when the one who 
has been in charge of him must be away and another is in temporary charge. 
The period of readjustments is often made easier by centering the child’s attention 
on getting his reward rather than on trying out the new nurse. The reward lies 
with himself. A case to illustrate: A mother had to be in a hospital for some 
time, leaving her five-year-old with help whose control over the child might be 
doubted at first. The mother left lists of all the bits of duty to be done by the 
child. A series of duties to perform before breakfast were to be rewarded, when 
done, by a red star; a series after breakfast, a gold star; a nap, a blue star; 
evening duties, a silver star; for every glass of water the maid saw 



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'her drink, a mark on a score card. It was understood that each star meant a 
penny toward the buying of a new doll head she desired. These records were 
indisputable. For the child each time she looked at them they represented so 
much successful effort. The maid had very little need for discipline, for the 
little girl’s attention was centered on her task and the reward, rather than sett¬ 
ing up her strength against the maid’s. This same child at the age of three had 
great joy in making marks on a big manila paper inside the closet door for 
victory in doing a certain distasteful task. She put a red mark every time she 
took some disagreeable medicine without a sound; a black one for a cry. There 
was no other reward. Napoleon remarked that it was not that he was not afraid 
before every battle, but that he put his ambition ahead of his fear to crowd it 
out. And so the reward may be the substitution in many hard places. 

What Shall Be Our Rewards? These should not always be the same thing, 
but there should always be something which is wholesome for the child. Candy 
and like things should be used only at rare intervals. To learn to know the value 
of money, the child must have money; so perhaps money may often be used. A 
penny for the child is as good as larger coins, and will help him to realize how 
much effort must go into amassing a sum large enough to buy a thing of value. 

Forfeits and Fines. A mother had to correct her child again and again for 
a certain fault, frequently punishing for it. At last she said, “David, you know 
every time you do this that you are wrong. I have tried to help you in every 
way I can, but as punishing makes me unhappy and it doesn’t help you, we’ll 
stop. You have your money which you earn yourself. Whenever this happens 
again, I shall expect you to get a nickel from your box and put it in this bank. 
I do not want money gained from your naughtiness, so we will decide later some 
cause to give it to.” It worked like a charm, and the ill feeling which had 
existed between the mother and child over the previous corrections entirely 
disappeared. It became an impersonal thing. 

A penny forfeited for every spot on the table cloth, for napkins left out, or 
crumbs dropped, is often an excellent cure. 

Children should not be fined for tearing clothes or for accidents unless from 
extreme carelessness. Their play freedom must not be injured by too great worry 
over these things. An opportunity to wash out the spot or mend the tear how¬ 
ever is a better correction than a fine. Children are truly conscientious, and they 
feel worse over these mishaps than they show. A chance to attempt to rectify 
these accidents makes them more careful and saves their feelings. 

No fine should be exacted until the chance to win the reward or to establish 
the habit has been given. Let the child succeed without it, if he can. He will 
feel is justly demanded if he has first tried and failed. 



Later Childhood 


199 



T RAINING in thrift begins very early. It is concerned first with eating all 
the food on one’s plate; in eating all the apple except the core, not taking 
a little and throwing it away; and in eating crusts. A little later the child 
learns to save big scraps from his cuttings to use later; not to cut a small picture 
from the middle of a sheet of drawing paper, spoiling it all; to take care of 
toys and books; to put crayons away; in covering the paste jar to keep the paste 
from drying up, and in preventing waste in other ways. 

The next exercise he gets is in the use of his pennies. The five and ten-cent 
store and the corner grocery are a great menace to wise spending these days. 
Parents give pennies liberally and allow frequent spending because they can 
afford it, little realizing that they are establishing two very bad habits—frequent 
spending and the buying of cheap articles. Spending pennies must be considered 
in the light of the habits formed rather than the momentary pleasure they give. 

As has been repeatedly said throughout this book, children learn only by doing. 
If the child is to learn the value of money, he must know what thrift means: 

1. Realizing how money is secured—by earning it. 

2. What it is for—wise spending. 

3. How to keep track of what one has—accounting. 

4. Banking one’s own money and getting interest for it. 

5. Learning arithmetic, writing, responsibility and developing honesty are 
Other values derived from handling money. 




























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EARNING MONEY 

Under rewards mention has been made of the first way of earning pennies. 
As the child can shoulder small responsibilities about the house, he may receive 
a small regular wage. Such responsibilities include cleaning the bathroom bowl 
each morning, dusting, setting the table, clearing the table, wiping silver, pans, 
dishes, carrying in wood or other daily tasks. The pay may be by the day or week, 
as the parents decide. Whatever it is should be definitely settled between parent 
and child. Once settled, the parents must be careful in the extreme to keep to 
their bargain. The child has not learned to keep reliable accounts, and has an 
inaccurate memory. A failure to “pay up” at the right time will cause the child 
to lose confidence, and may affect his desire to earn. 

Parents should be very careful if occasion arises when he can’t pay or when 
he must borrow, that he gives the child a paper to keep on which is written, if the 
child can read, the amount borrowed or owed. If he can’t read numbers, the child 
can read marks. A paper on which one mark for each cent owed is put down 
will help. It is easy to learn to count fives by the usual four marks with one 
cross mark. It leads to counting by fives later. 

Very soon the need for some sort of accounts will arise. After pennies have 
gone into the securely-locked bank it is impossible to count them. A system of 
keeping a mark for every penny put in the bank helps to make the savings ac¬ 
count concrete. From this crude first account may develop a regular account 
book with two pages, one for savings and one for earnings. Later, to help in 
determining whether the spending has been wise, the child can learn to classify 
his spendings. 

One excellent way of keeping accounts and learning to handle money is to use 
paper money. Let the child have paper pennies and permit him to exchange for 
paper nickels, dimes and dollars. This will make money concrete without having 
actually to handle it. 

By eight years of age many children have found regular ways of earning 
money, by carrying papers, running errands for some store on Saturdays or sell¬ 
ing vegetables from his garden or eggs from his chicken yard. 

There is another way children come by money—by gifts. Such money comes 
easily and may go easily. A child should consider the wise saving or spending 
of this money, as well as any other. He should also learn to budget it; teach him 
what the word means. 

Children should have small allowances, part to be spent and a definite part to 
be saved. As he shows responsibility in handling money the allowance should be 
increased, to allow him to learn judgment in the selection of clothes, books and 
toys. It will lead to better care of these things when the cost is known. 



Later Childhood 


201 


SPENDING MONEY 

Unless the child has freedom to spend his money to 
learn his mistakes in paying too much, in buying toys that 
do not last; in buying “penny whistles,” he is not going to 
learn how to spend. Small sums now may save bigger 
losses later. 

A storekeeper is often of service in helping the child 
to realize values in explaining the making of change. 
Real experience in substituting a nickel for five pennies, 
nickels for a dime, and in getting back change, and so on, 
is right experience. Often with the paper money at home 
the mother may prepare the child for the change he may 
expect at the store, giving him a chance to check up for himself. 

A certain little girl had earned some pennies. They burned her pocket until 
they were spent. The next day she was given a nickel, and she went to the store 
to buy a much-needed box of crayons which cost ten cents. “Oh, dear, I do 
need them now. If I hadn’t bought that old cracker-jack I could use those 
pennies, couldn’t I, and I didn’t like the prize anyway. Won’t you give me some, 
mother?” “No, I haven’t any to-day.” “Then I suppose I’ll have to wait until 
I earn some more pennies.” 

Money in the bank means something to spend for coveted playthings, presents 
for those we love, which are real gifts, because earned; money to express one’s 
sympathy in a real way for starving babies instead of working up an emotion 
which gets nowhere. It also means that he has something to give toward the 
repair of any damages his carelessness may have caused, and with which to pay 
fines. He has something with which to do his bit when the family as a whole 
sends a gift, goes into a business, or buys a home. Betty, of her own accord, 
offered her savings to help on payments on the new home. In another family 
where the father is staking his all on a business success, each child is having his 
part in the sacrifice to be made. Children should be taken into the family council, 
undertakings and expenditures talked over, and each member given his chance 
to share in the sacrifices as well as the rewards. 

The child should bank his own money. He can only realize the amount of his 
savings when he sees it poured out of his bank. He can only understand the 
honesty of banks in returning money deposited when he is allowed to present the 
check and receive the cash. Betty for a long time tried to get money from her 
mother’s bank by writing the best she could on the checks on the bank counter, 
which the banker refused to honor. It was only after she had deposited money 
of her own and drawn it out that she began to understand. 











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Later, when the child is old enough to understand interest, he will find that it 
pays to save money. Betty’s mother has often paid her a small amount of interest 
money when she has borrowed from her, to make her realize what interest is. 

A child should be expected always to have some change on hand for an 
emergency, and should expect to put into a permanent savings account some part 
of his earnings. 

There is no better way to develop principles of arithmetic than in the handling 
of money. The other desirable qualities developed through this interest are so 
evident that there is no need to discuss them. 



CAUTIONS FOR PARENTS 
“Do’s” 

1. Carry out your promises promptly and scrupulously. 

2. Allow some money for free spending. 

3. Encourage wise spending and reasonable saving. 

4. Give the child an opportunity to earn money of his own. 

5. Place on the child responsibility for spending his money wisely. 

6. Give advice as to spending, when called upon. 

7. Put your business relations with your children on a business basis. 

“Dont’s” 

1. Don’t make your child dun you for money you owe him 

2. Don’t be an “easy mark” in dealing with your children. 

3. Don’t go back on your promise because a child spends his money unwisely. 

4. Don’t regard a promise to your child less binding than a promise to a 

stranger. 

5. Don’t be so niggardly that your child prefers to work away from home. 

6. Don’t protect your child from the consequences of his own extravagance. 

7. Don’t lose your child’s confidence by questionable dealings. 































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203 



''''Safety First ” Habits 

S TOP on a corner to look for vehicles before crossing over. 

Watch for safety before getting off a car and running to the curb. 

Never cross behind a standing car without looking in opposite direction. 
Keep always to the right on any road. 

Be able to tell one’s house number, street address and telephone number. 
Know father’s name and business address. 

Let mother or guardian know where you are at all times. You can always use 
your neighbor’s telephone, or ask her to use it for you if you wish to stay to play. 
Refuse to take walks or rides with strangers. 























































































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Nature Work of All Kinds 

Ellen Eddy Shaw 

I F, by any magic means, parents could find a vocabulary so simple, so clean, 
so uplifting, by the use of which they could make plain to their boys and 
girls the story of life, the meaning of sex, the inspiration coming from fine 
living, such a language would be priceless, and no difficulty could stand in the 
way of acquiring this fine art of speech. During one of the most active mental 
periods of human life, namely, from the age of three to seven, a child is acquir¬ 
ing all sorts of impressions of the world he is to live in, and laying down in the 
gray matter of his brain the beginnings of mental avenues of thought and atti¬ 
tude of mind which stay by him all the rest of his life. Hence, it is most essen¬ 
tial that during these periods a child should be surrounded by all those things 
which are to make a rich life-content for him. In other words, a well is being 
sunk, either deep or shallow, from which eternal springs shall rise all the rest of 
his life. Shall the well be full of sparkling and fresh water, or shall it be a murky 
and sluggish one? These are the two choices. It depends upon the parent what 
sort of environment shall surround the child from the third to the seventh year. 
Whatsoever is pure, whatsoever is holy, and whatsoever is fine should be made 
the normal background of early years. If we are to expect purity of thought 
and deed from the next generation, the foundation must be laid by parents during 
the period mentioned. No parent can expect this background to be supplied by 
church, school or society. 














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The plastic period is the one given by God to the parents during those years 
when the parents are the greatest thing in the world to children. What, then, 
shall the nature background be? First, one of understanding of natural laws 
which shall be gained from observation and experiences with the outdoors. Sec¬ 
ond, a reverence which shall come from seeing the great miracles God performs 
daily in the physical world. And thirdly, an understanding of the child’s self and 
his impressions of sex which shall come from a study of plant life and its func¬ 
tions, of lower animals, and through the study of personal hygiene. 

Let us take the last point first, that is, a child’s understanding of himself and 
of sex. We start with the psychological fact that suggestion is powerful and 
that in regard to a child’s self and the sex question in general there is bound to be 
a great deal of unpleasant suggestion thrown about these questions unless great 
care is taken by the parent to safeguard against it. Such a subject should be 
burst wide open at the very start, should never have any unpleasant ideas asso¬ 
ciated with it, and should be as normal and natural and sweet and wholesome as 
the physical operation of breathing fresh air. Place a suggestion of goodness 
against a suggestion of evil: a knowledge of purity is a guard against evil. A 
mind full of wholesome thoughts has no room for impurity. Suppose one starts 
with certain basic facts to present to a child—not to present them all in a rush, 
but to see that these facts are covered during that period of from three to seven 
years. The plant world lends itself easily to this. First, plants are alive, as we 
are. Second, plants have organs similar to ours, and those organs have functions 
like or similar to those of ours—for example, breathing, circulation, food making, 
producing one’s kind, or reproduction. Third, plants need care, food, light, heat 
and water. Poor weak seeds produce poor, weak plants, and poor weak animals 
produce poor, weak animal children. Fourth, plants may be improved so that 
the seed from the parent will produce finer plants than the parent plant; so may 
the animals be improved. Take up cross-fertilization and what it means. Fifth, 
plants and animals have sex: some are made like boys and men; some are female, 
like girls and women. Sixth, plants live in families; so do animals. There must 
be fathers and mothers, in order that there may be children. 

To work out these basic facts mentioned above, at a very tender age children 
should get in touch with plant life, learn to care for and love it by having plants 
of their own. Little individual pots of bright red tulips, yellow crocuses, blue and 
white hyacinths, or a bright geranium to care for during the winter will sustain 
interest. In early spring start in boxes of soil or sawdust or between damp blot¬ 
ting papers seeds of corn, beans, beets, of marigolds, batchelor buttons and squash. 
Try a few simple experiments of keeping the young plants in the light and in the 
dark; with water and without water; in the heat and in the cold. It is easy to see 



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exactly what plants need—just those things which we need for our lives. Watch 
the geranium as it tends to turn toward the light; swing it around so that each 
side may have a chance at the sunlight and so grow naturally and normally and 
well. 

There is nothing better for a child than this work with his plants. He learns 
to handle life, to care for something, to be responsible. Get some raw peanuts and 
start some of these in little pots of soil. Break open the peanut or bean; see in¬ 
side of it the little plant—the baby—already formed. All about the baby, those 
big seed leaves, or the edible part of the bean or peanut, are filled with food which 
the mother plant has stored up for her babies. Babies, whether in the form of 
bean seeds, peanuts, eggs, kittens, puppies, or baby children, must begin life 
before birth surrounded with food prepared by the parent and part of the parent. 
Then out of a warm and comfortable mother nest the plant, chicken, bird, puppy, 
kitten or baby emerges into life. A while longer it is fed by the parent and then 
it takes care of itself. The bean seedling is excellent material for this study, be¬ 
cause as it grows larger and larger it still uses the mother food, carrying it up 
into the light with it, sucking on its bottle of food until it is a great, big, strap¬ 
ping child. Cut open a bulb, and down inside of it you find a little plant, a tiny 
flower, already formed and ready to start out when the time comes. 

Take possibly the raising of chickens, the baby inside the egg, the slow 
growth, feeding on the food that nature has provided, coming out of its shell at 
the right time, a struggling creature needing help from its mother; the kitten or 
puppy formed inside the mother, finally coming out into this world, and living on 
mother’s food until big enough to take care of itself. The country offers great 
opportunities in this line. The child who is entirely surrounded by city restric¬ 
tions must look largely to plant life and to summers in the country for nature’s 
own explanation of physical life, its needs, and what sex stands for. A little girl 
handling gently a cat about to have kittens said to an older person, “I have to be 
very careful of my cat, because it is pregnant.” The older person was amazed and 
said, “How vulgar in the child.” Really, how vulgar in the grown person. There 
is nothing vulgar in the word pregnant. This story is an illustration of the fact 
that grown people have associated and packed around certain words only one 
meaning, and that an unpleasant one. Perhaps it is not necessary that one ever 
use the word pregnant; perhaps it would have been better had the child said, “The 
cat is going to have kittens. Inside the mother are the kittens, waiting until 
the right time to be born.” It is a wonderful time. We have to take care of the 
mother. It is just so when our baby sister or brother is born. It is just so when 
the little bean seed swells and swells, and finally the child bursts out of the seed. 

The idea of sex in plants and animals should be discussed with the child 






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when it is very young, and should be spoken ol frequently and simply in a matter- 
of-fact way, right straight along, so that there never comes a break in the time 
when one can talk naturally and normally with one’s child about one of the big¬ 
gest factors of life. In the minds of many people recently this biggest factor has 
been made over-prominent and has been surrounded with doubt. When it is dis¬ 
cussed with no emphasis, it can never be a very alarming factor in one’s mind. 

The poplar tree or the willow in spring is sending out its buds. We have 
cut two willow twigs or whips, one from one tree and one from another. We 
notice that as the catkins are thrust out one finally becomes covered with a fine 
yellow dust, while the other has developed little tubes or pistils. The one with 
the pollen is the male; the one with the pistils is the female. The yellow pollen 
must fall upon those tubes, and then the pollen, by sending out living filaments 
which grow and work their way down into the ovary, thus fertilizes the seed. 
Take a bright-colored nasturtium, and see the parts which have the yellow pollen 
on them; in the same flower note the pistil standing up in the center. The parts 
of the plant, the stamens, which have the yellow pollen are male parts, or fathers, 
and the pistil, waiting for fertilization, the part from which the new child or seed 
must come, is the female, or mother part. Bring out the point that the seed is 
useless without being fertilized, that the pollen gives new life to the embryo seed. 

If you are out in the country during blossom time in the spring, tie a paper 
bag over one cluster of apple or cherry blossoms and leave it. Watch the fruit 
set and grow and see what your apple or cherry, unfertilized, tastes like. It is 
necessary that bees and birds and the wind carry the pollen from flower to flower 
so that we may get good seeds. This is called cross-pollination, or cross-fertili¬ 
zation. If you have some lovely pansies and you see the pollen heavy on one 
flower and notice that the pistil of another is sticky and ready for the pollen, take 
a clean knife, get some of the pollen dust off one flower and put it on the pistil of 
another flower. Then tie a little bag over that, and when the seeds come, save 
them, remembering what color the pansy was from which you took the pollen and 
the color of the one upon which you put it. See what you get from these seeds. It 
is fun to try out experiments like this, and it is also good for a child. We need 
good parents in order to have good children. It is not easy to try experiments of 
this sort with the animal world. The fish globe with snails in it and finally a little 
new family of snails coming out is all very interesting, indeed, but the lesson of 
life can only be taught well from the plant kingdom. 

Speak to the children about the reason for the beautiful colors in plants, the 
lovely shades of color in the male birds; tell them that all this is for attractive 
purposes, so that this great work of fertilization may go on, and that we may have 
new birds, new flowers and new children. 




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With a child of eight, nine or ten years, the idea of plants living in families 
and animals living in families is a very good one to bring out. For instance, take 
the maple trees, numbers of them, and yet because of certain likenesses, make it 
clear that they belong in one family. Take the oaks; look at the leaves, and you 
will see that some of them have round lobes and belong to the white oak family, 
while others have sharp pointed lobes and belong to the black oak family. One 
might divide up the oaks into these two groups, all summer long, with much en¬ 
joyment and profit. Consider the narcissus family, in which we have the Chinese 
lily, paper white, daffodil, jonquil, poeticus. Raise all these members, and see 
why they are alike. Take such a family as the Solanaceae, to which the potato, 
tomato, and tobacco belong. Why are they all in one family? All of nature 
gathers itself together in groups determined by likenesses and differences—this 
great big world of families. In the animal kingdom, the family of sparrows will 
perhaps be as good a one as any to study; or that family to which the robins, blue¬ 
birds and thrushes belong. Why are they alike? Or, study the big family of 
cats—the wild cats and the tame cats. 

Again, in the winter study the pine trees, with their leaves all gathered into 
needles, some with five needles in little bunches, some with three and two. This 
gives the basis of classification for the family of pines. Think of all the ques¬ 
tions that might come out of this work with your children. Send your child to 
the works of Burroughs and Favre, almost at the very start of his understanding 























Later Childhood 


209 


of the printed page, to look up all sorts of interesting things. Think of the won¬ 
derful colored charts and pictures from which he may draw his own conclusions. 
Think of the collections you would like to have him make from all of these, the 
lessons of character and precision, exactitude and observation, worked out natur¬ 
ally ; for example, orderliness of nature, against disorderliness of nature; flowers, 
plants growing up in their proper places; weeds—plants growing out of place; the 
upset bureau drawers—things out of place; toys not put away at night—things 
out of place. Here are tremendous opportunities for lessons essential to life. 

The second great object in presenting the field of nature to a child during 
his most impressional periods is that of reverence for the great works of 
God or nature. Early impressions are lasting. Each season of the year some 
miracle is spread before us. For example, in the fall the coloring of the leaves— 
nature, less active in her vigorous work of obtaining food in the plant world, 
starts these great changes which are not entirely understood by man. The world 
changes, and as if an artist had taken a paint brush, the vivid red of some of 
the maples and sweet gums, the yellow of the tulip trees and other maples, the 
russet brown of the oak leaves, are spread before us where green appeared yester¬ 
day. At this time of the year if you pull off a leaf from the tree you will notice 
a corky layer beneath; this is the little door by means of which nature is starting 
to shut off food from that leaf and to push the leaf off. A miracle? Verily. 

Walking in the woods later on in the winter, dig down under the snow or 
the covering of dry leaves and see the hepatica buds already formed, little plants, 
which, if taken into the house and placed in a bowl like a partridge berry bowl, will 
open their buds. All of nature has prepared ahead to do its later work. Scratch 
aside the mulch you have put over the pansy beds in the garden, and see the buds 
waiting to come out. 

Gather cocoons in the fall, keep them in a cool place and occasionally sprinkle 
them with water. Then in the days of late April, force out the moth from the 
cocoon or the butterfly from the chrysalis. Nature’s great miracle has happened 
within that cocoon. In the summer, feed some caterpillars and keep them con¬ 
fined so that the cocoons may be woven before the children’s eyes; so they may 
see the fine covering of hair taken from the woolly bear, or those wonderful 
Cecropia and Polyphemus cocoons woven from silk, and often in the case of the 
Polyphemus, pieces of wood pulp woven in with the silk. The hornet’s nest is 
another miracle of nature’s work; the beaver’s dam and that interesting little in¬ 
sect, the spider, spinning its web across the roadways and in the woods, so that, 
as you walk along, these silken threads brush against your face and you know 
a spider has ballooned its way across the path on its tiny silk thread; the making 
of a bird’s nest—all wonderful things that are certainly beyond our power to do. 



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If you live in certain sections of the south, you may find cunningly hidden in 
the grass the open door of a trap-door spider’s nest, and lying quietly there in the 
grass you see him put up his little hind legs and quickly clap the door shut. All 
these are marvels, and they open up to a child a world of mystery and power be¬ 
yond ours. 

The cloud formations, interesting charts which one may get from the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture; the great electric storms in summer, having a radio 
system all their own. Work out some little star charts, sample sets of which one 
may buy from the Comstock Publishing Company, of Ithaca, New York. All 
these marvels can be spread at will before a child’s mind and before his eyes. A 
natural reverence for these great works must come into his soul. Such a book as 
Favre’s, and interesting little insect books by Clarence Weed, are worth reading 
at bedtime to your children. They make the best bedtime tales, because they are 
full of mystery and are based on fact; they are not made-up stories. 

This second point of reverence is all bound up with the first point of under¬ 
standing the great outdoor world, and it presents a series of questions to a child. 
These questions nature always answers, if you know the language. For instance, 
some of the maples form their buds and fruiting parts, the keys, early in the 
season, in May or June, while the sugar maple forms its fruit in the fall. What 
is the reason for this ? Why doesn’t the sugar maple line jap with the others ? 
Because it has other work to do. It is forming a tremendous amount of sweet, 
clear sap, which, when the tree is tapped, runs off and can be made into maple 
sugar and maple syrup. The tree is giving its greatest energy to that, while many 
of the other maples are giving their greatest energy at the same time to the forma¬ 
tion of the fruit. 

Why has the beaver a very flat tail? It is nature’s means of helping him to 
make his home and his dams to hold water back. Why do we often find toads 
sitting out under the plants in our garden? Why have they long, whip-like 
tongues which are coiled up in their mouths? It is that they may be able to 
gather those injurious insects into their mouths with their little lashing tongues. 
Why are horsechestnut seeds made rounding? They should roll away from the 
parent tree so that not all the new little baby trees will spring up about the mother 
but be scattered here and there. Why is the squirrel always so busy in late 
summer and fall? So it may gather enough food for the long winter. Why do 
some of the squirrels build their homes under ground, with a trapdoor at one 
end of the passage and the nest at the other ? For protection against the inroads 
of enemies. As we cross fields in late summer, sport-stockings, little trousers and 
dresses are covered with stick-tights and burdocks. Why does nature form these 
cunning little fish-hook shaped appendages on the fruits? So that these seeds may 





Later Childhood 


211 


take a ride, and later being plucked off and thrown down, may spring up all over 
the countryside. 

Why are the male birds so beautiful in color, and why are the female birds 
which are to stay at home on the nest dull colored? Why is the walking-stick 
made to look exactly like a twig, and why can the little tree toad change its color 
from green to brown and almost dull neutral stone color? This matter of pro¬ 
tective coloration is a very interesting study, a marvelous thing, a miracle and a 
scientific protective fact. 

Why, as you walk through the open, unsheltered fields, do you notice all the 
trees bending in one direction ? Of course, this phenomenon represents the action 
of prevailing winds. This is very noticeable at the seashore. Then there are all 
the wonderful sea forms to be studied. Have you ever taken up a brittle star 
and seen it drop off its arms so that it might save itself rather than be caught?— 
the little sea anemone with its wonderful flower-like top, its mouth nestled far 
down within its row of tentacles; the sea urchin, which is like the star-fish, only 
closed up and covered with those prickly spines which protect it against the 
inroads of higher animal forms ? 

Study the kittens and puppies at home. Why is the cat’s foot shaped just 
as it is? What means does nature give the puppy to get its food, to protect itself, 
to express its joy or displeasure? Pets like rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, ducks 
and kittens offer wonderful opportunities to bring out in a child a protective feel¬ 
ing, a sense of responsibility and an opportunity to study the laws of nature. If 
one lives in the country, all the little tracks in the snow made by the different 
little wood animals are well worth studying, careful observation coming in at 
this point. Putting out food in the winter, planting shrubs with bright berries 
for the same purpose—all this is well worth doing by the young children. 

The little home garden is another opportunity for a child to learn lessons of 
care in planting and observation of how nature looks out for herself—the ex¬ 
panded root of the beet, the thickened broad stock of the celery, the swelling on 
the stem of the kohlrabi which forms its edible part, the storage of food in the 
root of the onion plant. Perhaps the garden is one of the most normal and natural 
places for a child to learn some lessons of life. He sees plainly there the results 
of his own work. They are either good or bad. He has td be honest with himself 
in that spot. You cannot plant carelessly, and then have a beautiful, orderly gar¬ 
den. Nature tells you right away that you have made mistakes. 

The third point in presenting to a child the natural laws in our physical 
world is bound up with the discussion of the second point of reverence, and in 
opening up this world to him, you cannot but place before a child, as has been 
stated several times here, some of the ways nature has taken to establish her 




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laws. All of the animal and plant 
world is striving constantly for food, 
protection, shelter or home, and to 
reproduce its kind. All the beautiful 
esthetic side of nature is carefully 
planned, in order that the great laws 
may be more firmly established. In 
the study of animal life, the point to 
attack is always that of care, and 
then as the child cares for his own 
pet animal, feeds it, helps to shelter 
it, he begins to see why nature has 
equipped his special pet with certain 
physical assets or limitations. It has 
been said that “to raise a plant successfully is an education in itself.” That would 
be equally true, and in the minds of some even more true, in raising an animal 
successfully, but the lesson of life or the reproductions of life are easier to unfold 
with plants than with animals. 

The whole round world, in a sense, is the child’s oyster. Help him to open 
it; help him to understand it. Parents are constantly planning to heap up a certain 
amount of riches, or property, or bonds, or stocks to leave to their children. How 
much more splendid an inheritance it is for children to have in their souls and in 
their minds and their hearts the right sort of things, so that later a young person 
may know that his father’s gift to him was insight, the power to think clearly and 
not to deceive himself by false issues; that one’s mother’s great gift was the 
ability to appreciate the beautiful, to face facts and to reverence holy things. 

Can you think of a more splendid inheritance ? Those children who leave the 
fireside and go out into the outside world to school and to work and to play 
at the age of from eight to ten years carry with them practically all of the possi¬ 
bilities of life. These come, first from their inheritance; second, from their 
environment, or what their parents have surrounded them with from the time of 
birth to the age of seven or eight years. 

Take this magic thing, the natural world, twirl it about before the child as you 
would hang a crystal to catch the sunshine, and let there break up, sinking within 
his soul, the white light of truth, so that all the beautiful colors of life shall re¬ 
main in him a spectrum of possibilities from which he may draw his source of 
future appreciation. 

For Aid to Parents: Here follows a simple suggestive course of nature 
study which it is possible for any parent to carry out, at least in part. 










Later Childhood 


213 



SUGGESTIVE COURSE OF NATURE STUDY FOR HOME WORK 

(By Seasons) 

I. For Fall 

a. Seed dispersal; fruits; weeds, 

i. Modes. 

a. Wind. 

b. Animals. 

c. Water. 

d. Mechanical. 

b. Preparation for winter. 

1. Squirrels. 

2. Horses. 

3. Chickens. 

4. Bears. 

5. Groundhog. 

6. Toad. 

7. Snakes. 

c. Trees. 

1. Coloration. 

2. Dropping of leaves. 

3. Fruits. 

d. Bulb study. 

e. Cuttings. 

1. Soft wood. 

2. Hard wood. 

f. Outdoor garden work; harvesting. 














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g. Weather. 

h. Birds. 

i. Insect life (cocoons). 

j. Fall Flowers. 

II. For Winter. 

a. Trees. 

i. Deciduous. 


a. 

Shape or form. 

b. 

Buds. 

c. 

Bark. 

2 . Evergreen trees. 


(broad and narrow leaves). 

b. Persistent fruits. 

c. Rocks and minerals. 

d. Seeds, experiments in germination and testing. 

e. Preparation for the outdoor garden. 

(plans and ordering seed). 

f. Bird study. 

1. Winter protection. 

2. Feeding. 

g. Indoor planting. 

h. Bulb study; length of time until blossom. 

i. Elementary botany. 

j. Animal study; house pets—cat, bird, dog. 

k. Weather. 

l . Garden apparatus—in manual training shop; make garden 
reels, stakes, dibbers, flats. 

m. Elementary astronomy; star charts. 

III. For Spring. 

a. Soil. 

b. Weather. 

c. Trees, buds, leaves, flowers, early fruits. 

d. Birds; nests. 

e. Flowers (wild) ; elementary botany. 

f. Garden work. 

g. Insect study. 

h. Animals beneficial to the garden, or harmful: toads, moles, 
earthworms. 

i. Shrubs (pruning). 




Later Childhood 


215 


Suggestive Questions for Home Study of Plants, Animals and Trees. 

Plants. 

Is your plant in the form of a low-growing, trailing plant, or tall, or the 
size of a shrub? 

Leaf: Study leaf form. Is it a simple or compound leaf ? Does it grow 
opposite or alternate on the stem? 

Stem: Is it smooth or rough? Is it woody or soft? 

Flower: Color, shape, single, clustered, simple or composite? Pendant 
or erect? Cultivated or wild? When does it bloom? For older 
children: parts of the flower and flower families. 

Fruit: What is the nature of the fruit? Single or clustered? When 
is it formed? 

Animal Study. 

Size and shape of the animal. General coloring: markings. Is it colored 
for protection ? What kind of a coat or covering has it ? 

Feet: Study the tracks. 

Habits: What are its general habits? How does nature protect it for 
the kind of life it leads? On what does it feed? 

To what family does the animal belong? Name as many as you can of 
its relatives. 

Value: Is the animal of any commercial use? 

Birds. 

Size and shape, compared with sparrow for small size and robin for large. 

Bill: What does the bill tell you about the bird ? What can you say of 

* its size and shape. 

Habits: How does it fly ? Does it walk, run or hop ? How does it get 
its food ? What are its nesting habits ? 

Value: Of what value is the bird ? 

T rees. 

Shape and branching: study of bark (best studied in winter). 

Conifers (evergreens) or deciduous trees: Deciduous trees drop their 
leaves in the fall. Why is it well to use the name conifer instead of 
evergreen ? 

Buds: Are they opposite or alternate ? Does this determine the branch¬ 
ing? Are the buds smooth, coated, round, pointed, or are they sticky? 

Leaves: Alternate or opposite? Color? Veining? 

Blossom: Color, shape; when formed? 

Fruit: When formed? Description. 




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Some Families of Plants to use With Children to Develop the 
Concept of Family. 


Compositae 

Aster 

Calendula 

Dahlia 

Cruciferae 

Radish 


Cabbage 

Horseradish 

Leguminosae 

Sweet peas 

Beans 

Lupine 

Solanaceae 

Tomato 

Tobacco 

Potato 

Ranunculaceae 

Columbine 

Delphinium 

Buttercup 


The following books are helpful in nature study work: 

Blanchan: Bird Neighbors. 

Lefax Leaflets: Lessons on Plants, Flowers, Animals. Plates for coloring; 
published by the Comstock Publishing Company, Ithaca, N. Y. 

Matthews: Field Book of American Wild Flowers. Familiar Life in Field 
and Forest. Field Book of American Trees and Shrubs. 

Reed: Guide to Wild Flowers. Bird Guide, Land Birds, Water Birds. 
Weed and Emerson: Our Trees, How to Know Them. 

OUTLINE DRAWINGS 

Flower Outlines. 30 plates in set. 50c per set. Obtainable from Miss M. E. 

Eaton, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, New York City. 

Moth and Butterfly Plates. 10 plates in set. 20c per set. Comstock Publishing 
Company, Ithaca, New York. 

Zoo Animal Outlines. 50c per set. Comstock Publishing Company. 

Outline Drawings of Common Animals. 30c per set. Comstock Publishing 
Company. 

Outline Drawings of Common Birds. 55 plates in set. 50c per set. Comstock 
Publishing Company. 



Later Childhood 


217 



Social Needs of the Child from Four to Seven 

D ESIRABLE qualities grow only through exercise; self-dependence is 
developed through having to depend upon one’s self. And so the ability 
to live one’s own life, to secure one’s own ends in the society of others, 
grows only through living among people and acquiring habits of adjustment to 
them. A child may have the best of teaching about fairness, justice, courtesy, 
not fighting or not being selfish, and yet be utterly lacking in the exercise of' 
these qualities when thrown among people. His misadjustments cause super¬ 
sensitiveness and hurt through misunderstandings, a tendency to be “walked 
over,” to give up his standards to win approval, a real weakness when among 
others; or it may develop a dominating sense of power, a selfish overbearing 
manner, and other undesirable traits when later thrown among other chil¬ 
dren. It may mean a withdrawal within self and an unsatisfied longing forf 
things only social life can get. Social habits of some kind, that is, methods of 
adaptation to the people around the child, are bound to grow—have been grow¬ 
ing from babyhood. The sooner opportunity comes to give right social adjust¬ 
ments a chance, the less need will there be for waste and suffering later. 

Again, children grow quite familiar with the mother’s words at home, and 
only half listen to her. But let the teacher talk about the necessity for clean 
nails, clean faces, or a child call attention to another child’s dirty hands, and the 
words, heard as though entirely new, receive attention. I remember the amaze¬ 
ment and later the amusement I felt when Barbara told me with serious face 
that “every little child must brush his teeth before going to bed,” and, getting 
her brush, went to work as though she had never heard of the necessity before. 
Words and acts in a situation away from home receive attention otherwise not 
given. It may be for the same reason that the housekeeper speaks of “how good 
things taste away from home,” when her husband, perhaps, is wishing for the 
cooking he enjoys at home. A good school upholds the mother’s hands. 






























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There is not only the new light thrown on old home activities, but in a 
group of children coming from many different homes there is added much that 
is new, and much that enlarges the experience of each child in the group. The 
child finds that things in his home—laws, regulations, pleasures—are not pecu¬ 
liarly his own, but a part of the life of all boys and girls. He finds a place not 
only for himself among others, but for his home in the community. 

Until now the child has known law only as laid down by his parents, ac¬ 
cepted by him with reasonableness or resentment, as the case may be. Now he 
finds that all children must obey law, and in a good school where many of the 
laws are made by the children as occasion arises, he sees the necessity for it and 
learns to give ready obedience. The home alone cannot teach this. 

He soon finds out that he must control his emotions as well as his actions. 
Where parents, making allowances for the child, adjust or ignore his ill-humors, 
these new companions punish or reward swiftly. He learns to see his behavior 
in the light of its effect upon others. 

There is another way in which the kindergarten (for at this age the only 
proper school is the kindergarten) broadens the child. Watching other chil¬ 
dren presents new ideas of things to do and new standards of judging his success. 

When the problem arises of making a basket to hold his Easter eggs, Henry 
sets to work immediately to reproduce one he has done at home or to devise one 
for the first time. He may finish his, and when he shows it be glad or ashamed 
of his results, as his work is commented on by the other children. His own idea 
of making a basket next time is changed. Or, Henry may see his neighbor mak¬ 
ing a different kind, and to his mind a better one; so he abandons his former 
plan and tries the new one. When the lesson is done each child has received from 
it not only the development of his own idea, but a head full of other possibilities 
of making baskets, and has formed some ability to judge work of others as good 
or bad. He goes home with a much broader idea, which, if he has materials to 
use at home, may find many forms of expression in play time. 

Nothing like the presence of other children fires the determination to succeed 
or urges on to greater achievement. Every child should have this means of 
finding his true worth among others. 

In another place there has been reference to the same situations in the 
section “How Children Teach Themselves,” wherein the value of representative 
and dramatic plays is shown. It is altogether necessary that other children 
enter into the plays. Many activities of this sort which could be of great value 
are lost to the only child out of school as well as to many children in school, who 
have the companions and the desires, but are unfortunate in attending the old- 
type of school. 




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219 


There is little need to speak of the superiority of the teacher over most 
mothers in this connection. It is taken for granted that she is well-trained for 
her work and has at hand the ideas and the materials needed to help on the chil¬ 
dren’s work. She is prepared to give the background of experience spoken of 
elsewhere as fundamental to the grade studies. She is prepared to see that 
whatever habits should have been formed by now are formed, and that he gets 
here whatever experiences the child should have before taking up formal school 
work. These, even with the best intentioned mothers, often are haphazardly 
provided, for the homemaker has other demands on her time and energy— 
needs of older children, of husband, and frequently the interruption caused by 
family illness. 

Any healthy child is better off in a good kindergarten than at home, no matter 
how good a mother may be or however able she is to teach him. In cases where 
there is no school, the conscientious mother will try to make up for this lack 
by encouraging many playmates in the home. She will try to see that her child 
gets this all-important social development, at home. And in the other lesson 
times which he has alone the mother will find her reward for all the inconven¬ 
iences she suffers from the presence of so many children in her home, in the 
pride and effort her little one makes because of the effect he hopes to produce 
upon his playfellows. 

We do not realize what a powerful force this is in the normal child. We 
shall do well to use it for his development, taking special care that we help him 
to keep some of his sense of proportion. An example will perhaps illustrate: 
Betty found that she might be a “somebody” by reading stories. This joy in 
excelling pushed her along so far that her playmates recognized her as the best 
reader among them. Betty told her mother one night what had been said. “Yes, 
it is very nice that you can give so much pleasure, but you mustn t talk about 
how well you can read to others. Every one may do something well. Alice makes 
people happy because she is always happy and sunny. Philip can do better than 
any one else on the trapeze,” said her mother; “and John is the very best planner 
of us all,” chimed in Betty. 

There are only a few years given to a mother to enjoy her child at home. 
Her child’s true development and the mother’s deep enjoyment of these years 
should come first. There is no happier way of enjoying one’s child than by sur¬ 
rounding her with little playmates and seeing the wonders of the child’s nature 
grow as it should. Children to play with lessens the demands upon the mother, 
leaving her more free to do her work and to enjoy as she listens to and watches 
the play. 




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Home Amusements 

T HE parents’ attitude toward home play will in a large measure determine its 
value for the children. If they regard it as a means to the child’s develop¬ 
ment, they will take pains to see that it is of the kind to develop resource¬ 
fulness and the habits of orderliness and consideration for the rights of others. 
They must be willing to let children form and carry out their own play projects, 
and refrain from overwhelming them with suggestions. One of the most impor¬ 
tant lessons for children to learn, however, is cooperation with others, on the basis 
of mutual rights. They must not, therefore, be allowed to usurp, authority. Par¬ 
ents often fail to respect children’s rights, but children as often fail to recognize 
that parents have rights also. The right to suitable play material and a place in 
which to use it is a right that should be conceded to children; but they should be 
taught that sometimes the parents’ rights may prevent the children’s exercise 
of their own. 

It is in this spirit and to these ends that parents should direct their children’s 
play. The play with materials forms but one of several agencies that contribute 
to their unfolding. Of the games that children enjoy so much in kindergarten, only 
the sense games, hiding games and guessing games can be used in the home, since 
the essence of the others lies in the companionship of other children. In the ab¬ 
sence of such companionship, the parents must contribute more of their own. By 
participating in their children’s unfolding, the parents will themselves be the 
gainers, since the enriching of their children’s lives will result in the enriching of 
their own. 




















































































Later Childhood 


221 


INDOOR, OUTDOOR AND PARTY GAMES 

Tower Ball. Blocks lie near together on the floor. 
The child tries to roll a ball to hit a block. Each time he 
hits one he puts it on a pile in the center until a tower is 
made. Then he aims his ball to knock over the tower. 
Where more than one child plays, they take turns. 

Bean Bag Race. A circle or limits must be set. Two 
children play the game. They stand back to back with a 
bean bag balanced on each hand. At a signal they start 
to walk rapidly around the course back to the starting point. 

The first arrival wins. 

Dodge Ball. This is played by several children, or child and parent. One 
stands while another tries to hit his feet with a large ball—a football is best. 
When the child is hit he is out of the game. 

Hide the Thimble. Here is an old game that every one knows. A ball, large 
bead, wooden block or other object may be used. As soon as seen, the finder 
retires to a chair, without showing or telling until all have found it. Be sure the 
object hidden is not entirely covered up. 

Tag Games. Children stand in a circle, holding out the right hand. One 
child skips to music around the center and hits a child’s hand; the person hit 
chases him, both skipping until the first child reaches the second child’s place 
and is safe. 

Fox and Geese. The children standing in twos, one behind the other, form 
a circle. One child is the fox; another, the goose. The fox chases the goose, 
who may seek safety by dodging in front of any two. There must never be more 
than two children in a group, so the one on the outside of the group which the 
goose has chosen must be goose and run. When the fox catches the goose, he 
becomes goose and the other becomes fox, and the game goes on. 

Bird Catcher. The children sit or stand in a circle, with a “catcher” in the 
middle. Each child is given the name of some bird. The leader tells a story 
orally, or reads it, which occasionally brings in the name of a bird. At the 
mention of a bird the player assigned its name quickly raises his hands and 
brings them down again. When the owl is mentioned (no one is given this 
name) all place hands behind the back and hold them there until another bird 
is mentioned. The catcher tries to seize a hand whenever it is moved. A player 
whose hand is caught or who does the wrong thing must change places with the 
catcher. 

The Minister's Cat. This game is very similar to that of “I love my love.” 
Each of the players must describe the minister’s cat, going right through the 









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alphabet to do so. “The minister’s cat is an angry cat,” says one; “an anxious 
cat,” says another; and so on until everyone has used an adjective beginning 
with “A.” Then they take the “B’s.” “The minister’s cat is a big cat,” and so 
on. The leader of the game must see that no one hesitates for a word. If anyone 
should take longer than half a minute he must pay a forfeit. 

Blind Man’s Buff. In the olden times this game was known by the name of 
“Hoodman Blind,” as in those days the child that was chosen to be “blind man” 
had a hood placed over his head, which was fastened at the back of the neck. 
In the present day the game is called “Blind Man’s Buff,” and very popular it 
is among young folk. 

Before beginning to play, the middle of the room should be cleared, the 
chairs placed against the wall, and all toys and footstools put out of the way. 
The child selected to be “Blind Man,” or “Buff,” is blindfolded. He is then 
asked the question, “How many horses has your father got?” The answer is 
“Three.” And to the question, “What color are they?” he replies, “Black, white, 
and gray.” All the players then cry, “Turn round three times and catch whom 
you may.” “Buff” accordingly spins round, and then the fun commences. He 
tries to catch the players, while they in their turn do their utmost to escape 
“Buff,” all the time making little sounds to attract him. This goes on until one 
of the players is caught, when “Buff,” without having the bandage removed from 
his eyes, has to guess the name of the person he has secured. If the guess is 
correct, the player who has been caught takes the part of “Buff,” and the former 
“Buff” joins the ranks of the players. 

Spin the Platter. An embroidery hoop or pan also may be used. The players 
sit in a circle. As one in the center spins the platter he calls a name. The 
child whose name is called reaches to get the platter before it stops spinning, if 
the child is young, or before the spinner counts ten, if older. If the child catches 
the platter on time he becomes “spinner.” If not, he has to pay a forfeit. 

Simon Says. Seat yourselves in a circle and choose one of the company to 
be the leader, or Simon. His duty is to order all sorts of different things to be 
done, the funnier the better, which must be obeyed only when the order begins 
with “Simon says.” As, for instance, “Simon says, ‘Thumbs up!’ ” which, of 
course, all obey; then perhaps comes, “Thumbs down!” which should not be 
obeyed, because the order did not commence with “Simon says.” 

Each time this rule is forgotten a forfeit must be paid. “Hands over eyes,” 
“Stamp the right foot,” “Pull the left ear,” etc., are the kind of orders to be 
given. 

The Farmyard. This game, if carried out properly, will cause great amuse¬ 
ment. One of the party announces that he will whisper to each person the name 



Later Childhood 


223 


of some animal, which, at a given signal, must be imitated as loudly as possible. 
Instead, however, of giving the name of an animal to each, he whispers to all 
the company, with the exception of one, to keep perfectly silent. To this one 
he whispers that the animal he is to imitate is the donkey. 

After a short time, so that all may be in readiness, the signal is given. Instead 
of all the party making the sounds of various animals, nothing is heard but a 
loud bray from the one unfortunate member of the company. 

A Peanut Gathering. As the title of this game suggests, the object is to gather 
peanuts which have been hidden in every available nook and corner—in crevices 
of sofas and chairs, under bric-a-brac, on mantels, behinds doors, etc. Each 
hunter is provided with a bag, which is made with a piece of tape across the middle 
of the top, on which his name is written. As the peanuts are found they are 
placed in the bags. When it is thought that the hunting has continued long 
enough, the hunters are recalled to the room from which they started, and the 
contents of the bags are counted by a committee appointed for that purpose, and 
a prize is awarded to the hunter having the largest number of peanuts. 

The Game of Shadows. For this game a white sheet is required to be hung 
up at the end of the room. Then the “shadow-makers” take their places on low 
stools behind the sheet; there must be only one lamp in the room, which should be 
placed about six or seven feet behind the “shadow-makers.” Then the “shadow- 
makers” drape themselves with shawls, or anything handy, and take their places 
so that their shadows are thrown upon the sheet. They must of course try to 
disguise themselves, so that the “shadow-seekers” may not be able to guess their 
identity. 

By loosening the hair and letting it fall over the face, a girl may appear like 
a man with a beard; bending the finger over the nose gives one a very queer¬ 
looking hooked nose in the shadow, and entirely alters the appearance of the 
face. Covering up in a sheet and then extending the arms gives one the appear¬ 
ance of a large bat. As soon as a “shadow-maker’s” identity has been guessed, 
he must take his place as a “shadow-seeker,” and the one who guessed him 
becomes a “shadow-maker.” The penalty of a glance behind on the part of the 
“shadow-seeker” is to pay a forfeit. 

Cat and Mouse. In this game the players join hands to form a circle, and 
stand about an arm’s length apart. One player, the cat, stands outside of 
the circle, while the mouse, the one to be caught, stands inside. Those who form 
the circle may raise their arms to allow cat or mouse to pass in and out of the 
circle, or they may hinder them by lowering their arms. When the mouse is 
caught other players are chosen. 

Drop the Handkerchief. This is always a favorite with the children, and it 





224 


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is a good game for a large party. All the players save one form in a circle, the- 
one taking his place outside with a knotted handkerchief in his hand. As he 
runs about the circle he sings: 

Itisket, Itasket, a green and yellow basket. 

I sent a letter to my love and on the way I dropped it, I dropped it, 

A little boy picked it up and put it in his pocket. 

Quietly he drops the handkerchief and runs on, trying to get around the 
circle and tag the player behind whom he dropped it before it has been picked 
up. If the player discovers it, however, he picks it up and runs with it, trying 
to tag the one who dropped it before he reaches the vacant place. 

London Bridge. Two children join their raised hands to form a “bridge” 
under which the others must pass in line, the two singing: 

London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down, 

London bridge is falling down, my fair lady. 

With the last word the “bridge” is dropped over one player, who is led aside 
to the tune of— 

Off to prison you must go, you must go, you must go, 

Off to prison you must go, my fair lady. 

The prisoner is then asked to choose between two objects, one of which has 
been selected by each of the two “bridge-tenders,” and takes her stand behind the 
one whose object she has chosen. The game goes on until all have been imprisoned, 
the side which has secured the most players winning the game. 

TRICKS 

The Dancing Highlanders. Get an old glove and cut 
the first two fingers down to the second joint; slip the 
glove on the hand; on the two bare fingers put a pair of 
doll’s socks, the one for the first finger being padded in 
the toe so as to make the finger as long as the second 
finger. The tips cut from the gloves should be used as 
shoes. 

You must have previously cut out of cardboard the 
upper part of a Highlander’s figure, painted the face, and 
dressed it in a kilt. This must be fastened to the glove, 
either with glue or with stitching, in such a manner that the fingers appear like 
the Highlander’s legs. The figure can then be made to dance jigs and cut capers 
in a very funny manner. 

The Cork Dancer. Cut out from cork the head and bust of a figure; run 
four stout bristles into this, so that it will stand upright. Paint the face, put’on a 










Later Childhood 


225 


cap and dress of tissue paper, then stand it upon the sounding board of a piano 
and play a lively tune. The vibration will cause the figure to dance very quaintly. 

Animated Serpent. Take a piece of firm cardboard, but not too thick, and 
draw upon it the form of a coiled-up serpent. Carefully cut out the serpent, going 
round and round until you reach the tip of its tail. Paint it green and gold in 
stripes, fasten a thread through the tail, and suspend it from the mantel-piece, or 
wherever there is a current of air, and it will twist and writhe as though it were 
alive. 

Skipjack. Skipjack is made from the wishbone of a fowl. Clean it well, and 
fix two pieces of strong elastic or catgut to the two arms. These must be well 
twisted before being made fast. Then insert a piece of stick in the center of the 
twisted strings, pull the long end of the stick backwards, fasten it to the pointed 
arch of the wishbone with a piece of cobbler’s wax, place the toy on the ground, 
stick downward, and very soon the wax will give and “Jack” will begin to skip. 

The Height of a Hat. Very few people have any idea of the real height of a 
gentleman’s high hat, as you will easily discover if you show one to the company. 
After they have viewed the hat, put it out of the room, and ask those present to 
mark what they suppose to be the height of it on the wall. When this has been 
done, bring in the hat again, and you will find that nearly every one is absurdly 
wrong in his estimate. 

To Suspend a Needle in the Air. Place a magnet on a stand, in order to raise 
it a little above the level of the table. Then bring a small sewing-needle contain¬ 
ing some thread close to the magnet, and, to prevent the needle attaching itself 
thereto, keep hold on the end of the thread. The needle is endeavoring to fly to the 
magnet and being prevented by the thread, will remain suspended in mid-air. 

The Dancing Egg. Get a hard-boiled egg, and place it on the reverse side of 
a smooth, polished plate or bread-platter. If you now turn the plate round while 
holding it in a horizontal position, the egg, which is in the middle of it, will turn 
round also, and as the pace is quickened, the egg will move more and more quickly, 
until it stands up on one end and spins round like a top. In order to be quite 
sure that the experiment will succeed, you should keep the egg upright, while it 
is being boiled, so that the inside may be hardened in the proper position. 

The Magic Thread. Soak a piece of thread in a solution of salt or alum (your 
audience must not know you have done this). When it is dry, borrow a very 
light ring, and fix it to the thread. Apply the thread to the flame of a candle; it 
will burn to ashes, but will still support the ring. 

The Swimming Needles. There are several ways of making a needle float on 
the surface of the water. The simplest way is to place a piece of tissue paper on 
the water and lay the needle on it; the paper soon becomes soaked with water, and 



226 


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sinks to the bottom, while the needle is left floating on the top. Another method 
is to hang the needle in two slings made of threads, which must be carefully 
drawn away as soon as the needle floats. 

You can also make a needle float by simply holding it in your fingers and lay¬ 
ing it on the water. This, however, requires a very steady hand. 

If you magnetize a sewing-needle by rubbing it on a fairly-strong magnet and 
float it on the water, it will make an extremely sensitive compass, and if you place 
two needles on the water at the same time, you will see them slowly approach each 
other until they float side by side; that is, if they do not strike together so heavily 
as to cause them to sink. 

The Obstinate Cork. Take a small cork, and ask some one to blow it into a 
fairly large-sized ordinary bottle that has a neck. This seems to be quite an easy 
matter. The one who tries it will probably blow as hard as possible upon the little 
cork; but, instead of going into the bottle as expected, it will simply fall down. 
The harder one puffs or blows, the more obstinate the cork will appear to be; and 
even if the effect of blowing gently be tried, the cork will not go into the bottle, 
much to the amusement of those who are watching. The reason why the cork will 
not go in is this: The bottle being already full of air, when the cork is blown upon 
more air will be forced into the bottle, and consequently the air inside will be 
greatly compressed, and will simply force the cork back. 

The following is a simple way of overcoming the difficulty: instead of trying 
to force the cork through the compressed air in the bottle, just the contrary should 
be tried, that is, some of the air should be sucked out of the bottle; this being 
done, the bottle will become partly emptied, and when the outside air rushes in to 
fill up the empty space, it will carry the cork with it to the bottom of the bottle. 

How to Light a Candle Without Touching It. Having allowed a candle to 
burn till it has a long snuff, blow it out suddenly. A wreath of smoke will ascend 
into the air. Now if a lighted match is put to the smoke at a distance of three or 
four inches from the wick, the fire will run down the cloud, and relight the candle. 

The Vanishing Dime. Stick a small piece of white wax on the nail of the 
middle finger of your right hand, taking care that no one sees you do it. Then 
place a dime in the palm of your hand, and tell your audience that you can make 
it vanish at the word of command. You then close you hand so the dime sticks to 
the waxed nail. Blow on your hand and make magic passes, and cry “Dime be¬ 
gone!” Open your hand so quickly that no one will see the dime stuck to the 
back of your nail, and show your empty hand. To make the dime reappear, you 
merely close your hand again, and rub the dime into your palm. 

The Force of a Water-Drop. Get a match, make a notch in the middle of it, 
bend it so as to form an acute angle, and place it over the mouth of a bottle. Now 




Later Childhood 


227 


place a small coin on the match, and ask anyone to get the coin into the bottle 
without touching either the bottle or the match. 

This is very easy to do. Dip your finger into a glass of water, hold it over the 
place where the match is notched, and let one or two drops fall on this point. The 
forte of the water will cause the sides of the angle to move apart, and the opening 
thus becomes large enough to let the coin fall into the bottle. 

The Dancing Pea. For this trick, take a piece of the stem of a clay tobacco 
pipe, two or three inches long, taking care that one end is quite even; with a knife 
or file, work the hole at the even end larger, so as to form a little cup. Choose 
the roundest pea you can find, run two small pins crosswise through it, put the 
point of one in the cup of the pipe and blow softly through the other end of the 
pipe, throwing back your head while you blow so that you can hold the pipe in an 
upright position over your mouth. The pea will rise, fall, and dance in its cup, 
according to the degree of force you use in blowing, but you must take care not 
to blow too hard, or you may blow it away altogether. 

The Coin Trick. Take a coin in each hand, and stretch out your arms as far 
apart as possible. Then tell your audience that you will make both coins pass into 
one hand without bringing your hands together. This is easily done by placing 
one coin upon the table and then turning your body round until the hand with the 
other coin comes to where it lies. You can then easily pick the coin up, and 
both will be in one hand, while your arms are still widely extended. 

CONUNDRUMS 

Which travels faster, heat or cold? Heat, because you 
can catch cold. 

What three letters turn a girl into a woman? A—g—e. 
What belongs to yourself, and is used by your friends 
more than by yourself? Your name. 

What is the difference between a milkmaid and a swallow ? 
The milkmaid skims the milk, the swallow skims the water. 

When is a doctor most annoyed? When he is out of patients [patience]. 

What is worse than raining cats and dogs? Hailing taxies. 

What is that which every living person has seen, but will never see again? 
Yesterday. 

Why may a beggar wear a very short coat? Because it will be long enough 
before he gets another. 

Why are a young girl’s cheeks like a team of horses ? One on each side of a 
wagon [wagging] tongue. 

What is the brightest idea in the world? Your eye, dear. 








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What animal drops from the clouds? The rain, dear [reindeer]. 

What is that which by losing an eye has nothing left but a nose? Noise. 

What is that which is full of holes and yet holds water? A sponge. 

What is the oldest table in the world? The multiplication table. 

Why was Eve not afraid of the measles? Because she’d Adam [had ’em]? 

What was the difference between Joan of Arc and Noah’s Ark? One was 
Maid of Orleans, the other was made of wood. 

Why didn’t they play cards on the Ark? They had only one deck and Noah 
sat on it. 

What kind of canned fruit did they have on the Ark? Preserved pears [pairs]. 

How many soft-boiled eggs could the giant Goliath eat on an empty stomach ? 
One, after which his stomach was not empty. 

Why is a baker a most unwise person ? Because he is continually selling that 
which he kneads himself. 

Why is A like a honeysuckle ? Because a B follows it. 

Why is modesty the strongest characteristic of a watch? Because it always 
keeps it hands before its face, and runs down its own works. 

Who are the two largest ladies in the United States? Miss Ouri and Mrs. 
Sippi [Missouri and Mississippi]. 

What word is it that is round at both ends and high in the middle ? Ohio. 

What is the keynote of good manners? B natural. 

When did Moses sleep five in a bed? When he slept with his forefathers. 

Why is it more dangerous to go out in the spring than any other time of the 
year? Because in the spring the grass has blades, the flowers have pistils, the 
leaves shoot, and the bulrushes out. 

What is the difference between a hill and a pill? One is hard to get up, the 
other is hard to get down. 

A man and a goose once went up in a balloon together, the balloon burst and 
they landed on a church steeple. How did the man get down? He plucked the 
goose. 

Why does an Italian soldier wear brass buttons on his coat, and a French 
soldier steel ones? To keep his coat buttoned. 

What is the difference between an old penny and a new dime. Nine cents. 

Which is the best way to make a coat last? To make the trousers and vest 
first. 

Why does a cat look first on one side and then another when she enters a 
room? Because she can’t look on both sides at the same time. 

Why is B like a hot fire? Because it makes oil Boil. 

When is a tall man a little short? When he hasn’t quite enough cash. 



Later Childhood 


229 


‘Drawing 

I N the home as well as in the school, the child should be given the same advan¬ 
tage and encouragement in familiarizing himself with the rudiments 1 of draw¬ 
ing as he receives in his constructive play or elementary studies. 

Drawing does not merely furnish an outlet for individual expression; it 
teaches muscular control and coordination between the eyes and hand, and encour¬ 
ages observation and lays the groundwork for art application and appreciation. 
We cannot all be artists or art critics, but as there is hardly a phase of modern 
living or business activity that is not affected or influenced by art, the ability to 
apply and appreciate it in its various forms is becoming more and more a necessary 
part of our training. There is no one who would not be benefited in his daily life 
by the application of the principles that are applied to the making of a picture. 

The artist who can paint a truly good picture must possess the ability to see 
things broadly or simply; he must not be misguided by false exteriors or blinded 
by unnecessary detail. His perspective must be true and his sense of values must 
be sound. 

Art, as well as being a universal language, is a most elemental means of 
expression. Almost before we realize it, the baby’s meaningless scribble begins to 
take form, and it is a wise mother who supplies him with the necessary materials 
and an opportunity to work off this primeval craving for expression. 

The following illustrations with instructions on mass drawing by Bess Eleanor 
Foster will do much to start the child working in the right direction. 

Chester H. Lawrence, 

Art Editor, 

The Foundation Library. 

INSTRUCTION IN MASS DRAWING 
Bess Eleanor Foster 

Crayon is much easier for young children to use than is pencil or water color. 
Begin in a simple way to learn to draw the figure. See the following pages. 

Give the figures a ground or floor to stand on. First, have children draw figures 
alone. If the drawing tells a story, that is all that should be expected from little 
children. After they have drawn the single figures, either of a child or an animal, 
encourage representation of groups of figures and later backgrounds. Talk of 
near-by trees and ones far away. Trees that are back and far away should be 
made smaller. Attention should be directed to the fact that the sky and the ground 
appear to meet. The child’s tendency is to make a little patch of blue sky across 
the top of the paper and leave a space between the sky and the ground. 




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HOW TO USE CRAYONS 




■■ « 


•‘<Yrr 


Fig. 3 • A Gradation from, 
dark to light is made by 
gradually decreasing die 
pressure upon the crayon 
•with each stroke. 


Fig 2 • A Gradation from 
light to dark is made by 
Starting with, very little 
pressure upon the crayon 
and gradually increasing 
the pressure with each stroke. 


Fig. 1 - A Solid Tone is 
made by carrying the 
Crayon back and forth 
over the paper without 

lifting it. 




'I | V|y Grasses 

Fig. 4 • lip and. down Strokes are used for tree trunks ^1 

fences, the Sides of buildings and tall objects generally. 1 

Horizontal strokes Suggest the Smooth surface of water and other similar smooth. 
Surfaces. Foliage and grasses are rendered with Strokes as shown.. 


Violet 


Fig. 5 • Colors may be mixed by applying 
one over another. Red over yellow WilL 
make orange, blue over yellow will make 
green, blue over red wilL make violet:. 


Fig. 6 • To make fine lines or for 
indicating detail, the crayon 
should, be sharpened to a point, 
with a pen-knife. 
































The Vikings 

These are actual reproductions of crayon drawings made by small children 


























• • 






























' 
























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As the children grow older and more skilful in the use of crayons, they will 
be able to get more of a costume on the figure. Children should not try to show 
features. The head should first be made with white chalk, with orange strokes 
added to represent flesh color. Call attention to the length of the arm. Suggest 
that they stand tall and measure the length of the arm against the body. Does it 
stop at the waist line ? Another thing which is usually a surprise to discover is 
that the foot is as long as the head. 

In the making of simple landscapes with crayons or water colors, attention 
should be called to good divisions of a rectangle. Good divisions mean that the 
sky space and water space, or the sky and land divisions, will not be equal. 







Later Childhood 


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When the crayon is used for laying in the flat tones, it should be laid on in 
close strokes and not in scattered lines, as this will result in uneven tones. 

When a mixed tone is to be secured by the use of two colors, one over the 
other, the child should be shown how the first color should cover the surface 
evenly but not solidly, so as to permit parts of the paper to receive the second 
color. This results in a blending of the two colors so that a pure mixture is 
secured. 

For painting with water colors, the child should sit a little to the left of his 
desk and have his paper before him. A heavy paper or a piece of oil cloth may 
be used to protect the desk. The cloth, water pan and paint box should be placed 
at the upper right side of the desk. Soiled color should be washed from the cakes 













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HOW TO USE WATER COLORS 


Strep two ~ Carry the brash 
charged, with water to the de¬ 
sired. color and -with gentle 
rubbing fill the brush, with paint. 


Step one - Dip brush in 
•water-pan or glass partly 
filled with clean water. 


Step three - Deposit the paint in the mixing tray provided for the purpose 
in the cover of the box and add water as needed to lighten the Color. 
RinSe the brush in. clean water before using it on another color, this will 
keep the colors in. the box clean. 


First step 
in laying a 
flat wash. 


A graded wash is made 
by Starting with Strong color ^‘*'4 
in the mixing tray and. adding to it 
a little water each time before the 
brash is dipped for another stroke. 

A gradation from, light to dark is 
made by Starting With clear water 
and gradually adding’ color. 


To lay a flat tone or 
wash, fill the brush with NAv. 
paint from, the mixing tray and^dj^N 
carry it across the paper from, left 
to right. Add Successive strokes, each 
time filling the brash with more paint, 
and guiding it So that it touches the 
lower edge of the last stroke all the way 
















A simple method of painting a picture in water color in four easy steps 




















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Later Childhood 


237 


and the box cleaned after each use, before it is put away. The brush should be 
rinsed in water and the water shaken out. The three colors, red, yellow and blue, 
are known as primary colors, and from them all other colors may be made. Red 
and yellow mixed produce orange; yellow and blue produce green; red and blue 
produce violet; red, yellow and blue produce the neutral tones. Black may be 
used to darken any of the colors. Black should be used sparingly, as it has a 
tendency to make colors lifeless and dead. 

The combination of two primary colors produces a binary color. Thus orange, 
green and violet are binary colors. 

The use of the pencil should not be allowed at all in either crayon or water- 
color drawing. 

In using water color, when a large surface is to be covered, as a sky in a 
landscape, color, should be mixed in a small dish or the tray of the water-color pan. 
To mix a large quantity of color, take about a teaspoonful of water and add color 
until the desired color is obtained. In painting flowers, for example, the color 
should be lifted from the cakes and placed directly on the paper, allowing the colors 
to mingle in the brush and on the paper. 

The child may wish to make a picture which shows the blue sky and the green 
grass’ It may be called a picture of out-of-doors, a picture which tells of spring. 
If we see more sky than ground, the larger part of the picture will be blue. Paint 
an even surface by using a brush full of color for each stroke across the paper 
(see page on “How to Use Water Colors”). Begin at the upper left hand corner 
and draw the brush to right corner, holding it lightly. Fill the brush with color 
(a tint of blue) and join the second stroke to the first. Cover the entire surface 
of the rectangle. Children should not work over the color after it has been placed 
on the paper, as this will result in a streaked appearance upon drying. While the 
blue wash is still damp, take a little blue paint in the brush and then draw the 
brush across the wet cake of yellow. Wilh these two colors make a stroke across 
the paper a little below the middle. Carry this color across the paper, taking more 
color from the paints as needed, until the lower part of the paper is filled with 
the color of green grass. 

The placing of distant trees or shrubs is the next step in landscape painting. 
The paper is moistened and the sky wash added. The distance is painted before 
the foreground of green is added. A dark green may be used or a violet mixture, 
which is made by taking a very little blue, a little red and a little yellow in the 
brush and applying the color in short vertical strokes to represent the shape of the 
trees. This should be done before the sky is quite dry. The foreground of green 
should then be added. The third step in landscape painting is the addition of trees 
which appear in the foreground, small buildings, etc. 





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The Young Qhild and His ^earning 

Caroline W. Barbour 

“Anyone of you who will watch a child at play may see Man the Maker taking shape 
before your very eyes through building blocks and the making of mudpie palaces. Man the Poet 
born in the chanting and dancing games, Man the Nurturer growing through play with dolls 
and pets and plants and younger children, Man the Scientist evolved in plays of imitation, 
of exploring, of collecting, of classifying ... and Man the Citizen in the great team games.”. 

Excerpt from Play in Education —J. E. Lee. 

C OMMON SENSE, as well as the scientific study of children which has 
been going on in these last three decades, has opened our eyes to the fact 
that the child is busy learning—that he is, in fact, learning all the time. 
He is daily going to school—to environment, to his playfellows, to the grown-ups 
about him, to himself, learning to read the book of life as the pages are set open 
for his perusal. What we have suddenly realized, however, is the corollary to 
this idea, namely, that the young child is learning what is in those pages, regard¬ 
less of whether the book has opened to a pleasant tale or to an ill-chosen one! 

In other words, he is learning as he lives, through participation in living, and 
it is no longer a question of the recognition that he is learning all the time, but of 
what kind of learning, what kind of schooling, what kind of habits, attitudes and 
information he should be attaining. 

Herein lie all of our modern problems in child-training, all of the possi¬ 
bilities and the responsibilities of our contribution. 

The subject for this section is to be handwork for the young child. To see 












Later Childhood 


241 


it in its proper setting and in its significance, we must conceive of it as a part of 
the child’s home education, and as one of his learning opportunities. He has 
many modes of learning, to be sure, but we are going to discover that working 
with his hands, working with things, is a very important learning process. Ma¬ 
terials and handwork at this early period, at home and at school, are in a large 
measure both textbook and subject matter for the child’s rapidly developing brain 
and body. 

It is needless to tell mothers that the chief characteristic of the two- to four- 
year-old child is activity. Ceaseless, incessant outgoing-ness occupies a large 
part of his day. We are beginning to realize that activity is his foremost early 
method of learning. This outgoing-ness takes the child into all fields of investi¬ 
gation, of experimentation, of experience with the things about him, and with 
his own ability to control or to manage them. He is exploiting his world, in 
order to know about it, and to enlarge his own life. As a passive onlooker, a 
spectator only, of the life moving on all about him, he would get nowhere in this 
new world which he has set out to conquer. 

The child of this period expresses his desire to get into touch with life and 
to learn all about it, through three main activities. They are, speech, which gives 
him a tool for intercommunication and an understanding of his social heritage; 
play, which is his earliest means of extending his little life through imitative, 
dramatic or rhythmic action; and handwork, the working upon and shaping of 
things. This latter characteristic and familiar activity of his play and work with 
the toys and materials of his everyday environment really occupies,a large part of 
his waking day, and is closely identified with speech and play. 

Especial emphasis is being put upon this factor of the child’s learning, as it 
has been so little understood and its significance is so much greater than we have 
heretofore imagined. If we can see its worth-while-ness, its perspective, so to 
speak, and how it leads directly into working attitudes and habits of industry, 
the busiest of mothers will be willing to take time out of her strenuous day to 
help guide and direct her children’s handwork. 

It takes little reflection as we pick up a shiny little acorn neatly carved and 
adorned by nature to realize that within that tiny container lie the possibilities 
of a long-lived, sturdy, splendid oak tree. Why are we often so unreflective 
about recognizing the potentialities, the seeds of power, the tendrils of native abil¬ 
ity put out by our little humans ? Nature can never do it all for human beings— 
that is why we are human—so we may find our own way out and up into the blue 
of Heaven. So we who supplement nature must understand and must supply 
right conditions for the developing of potential into actual powers. We must 
have the vision to see in the tiniest of beginnings the promise of enduring capac- 




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ities and powers at the end. Motherhood and teacherhood call for this quality. 


“The mind of man went with his hand until one by one the forces of nature came under 
his control.”— Chamberlain. 

Do you see anything which suggests plainly this learning, this controlling 
process, in the incessant activity of your three-year-old ? Why does he pull apart, 
knock down, pile up, look into, tear up, push, shake and rattle everything he can 
get hold of in this strange new world in which he is? If we ask the question 
another way, the answer will spring to our lips. What if the child didn’t experi¬ 
ment, sense, test and try the things of his new environment? He would never be¬ 
come acquainted with, he would never know, his world, and not knowing, he would 
never be able to master it. Mind, intelligence, is attained through activity. We 
say that the child is “muscle-minded.” Our first learning has always been, and 
always will be, first-hand learning. We learn to do by doing. Each one of us 
learned to walk, to talk, to climb, to dress ourselves, to handle tools, to skate, or 
sew, or read, by struggling through and mastering the intricacies and difficulties 
of these various activities. We learned the noble art of living with our fellows, 
not through reading of books on etiquette, but by the social give-and-take of daily 
intercourse. Indeed, all through life, according to Emerson, “The scholar loses 
no hour in which the man lives.” 

So the little child comes into a world “with the strangeness all about him,” 
and his fundamental, first-primer lesson is actively to get acquainted with it. The 
wider and richer his opportunities, the larger his background of experience, the 
better the chances are for a mental, moral and physical equipment which shall 
make him a useful member of society. 

The chief business, then, of childhood, is active, eager and intelligent play, 
and the toys and materials of his home and neighborhood are his tools. We see 
him playing with things, finding out about things, what they are for, and what 
will happen to them, and him, if he exerts force upon them. We know now that it 
is nature’s first lesson set for babyhood—to find out all he can, as fast as he can, 
about all the things that he can, in this place which will one day be his to possess 
—or to lose. We may hinder or help nature according to the degree of our under¬ 
standing and our wisdom. 

His second lesson, and like all well planned lessons, dependent upon the pre¬ 
ceding one, is to begin to use the information, the mastery he has gained. He 
becomes a “maker,” a creator, a shaper of his world through his imagination and 
play, and for two or three years he is earnestly, joyously and with unconscious 
wisdom filling out and enriching his life in the only way possible, through his play 
with people and with things. 





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243 


His third lesson, again progressing from the other two, is gradually to trans¬ 
late manipulation and play-work into the work and industry of adult life, for all 
the skill and power of maturity rests upon this foundation of instinctive tendency. 

The school helps in this through the manual activities of the kindergarten, 
and the manual arts and industries of the later grades. Special schools for voca¬ 
tions in arts and industries, in home-making and nursing, in technical and busi¬ 
ness guidance, complete the sequence. 

But, the home may be and should be the starting place and the complement of 
all this wide and far-reaching interest. As mothers, you can glory in the thought 
that you are your children’s first teacher, and your home his first school. Pes- 
talozzi, the leader in primary education, said that “the home is the cradle and the 
workshop of the world.” While our schools are expected to organize more 
thoroughly and to carry on more progressively the interests and needs of child 
life, our homes should always be the mainspring and the center of all such needs. 

THE MOTHER’S CONTRIBUTION 
In this section, we are going to discuss some of the manifold and varied ways 
in which the mother may help to train her children through their interests in 
handwork and in doing things. Provision of materials and place; guidance and 
training in habits; understanding, patience and cooperation, are a few of her ways 
of contributing which will be taken up in detail. 

Provision of a Rich Environment. Corresponding to the native urge for 
experience, of which we have spoken at length, should be the supply of varied and 
interesting materials, richness of opportunity. This does not mean costliness. 
We cannot make this point too emphatic. The daily occupational diet of the 
young child needs to be just as simple and as wholesome as is his physical diet. 
All the child needs is variety and simplicity of environment, coupled with a large 
amount of freedom for finding out for himself. The ordinary home condition, 
adapted with extraordinary intelligence (which is common sense, they tell us) to 
his needs are just full of suggestions for right activity. Richness of provision, 
then, is not a question of money, but of understanding, of seeing possibilities in 
all the simple materials which are in the home surroundings and of intelligent 
guidance in their use, making of the home an “invitational environment”. We 
shall see in a later section in detail what the home offers in respect to materials. 
THE CHILD’S NEED FOR HIS OWN PLACE 
Every child, little or big, needs a place of his own for his own things. This 
is a large part of right environment provision, but it is much more than 
that; it is the only possible basis for teaching children habits of neatness, economy 
and responsibility. Also, a place of his own, and places for his own things, makes 




244 


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possible a very valuable form of occupation (handwork, if you please) which has 
to do with his native tendency to manipulate. Some of this love of pulling out, 
packing and unpacking, taking down, reaching up, piling, and so forth, can be used 
and used well in learning to take general and specific care of his things. It is 
comparatively easy to establish these habits, if we start early enough so as wisely 
to take hold of and use what the psychologist has so aptly termed “the moment of 
instinctive readiness”—in this case the loving to take out and put back. Seize this 
activity-interest and change it by steady and patient teaching into a regular habit 
of picking up and putting away in the special place provided. 

Appeal must be made to his likings, his interests; so we watch what this kind 
of interest is, and find that part of it is the love of taking off covers, pulling out 
drawers, opening and shutting lids. This gives us many hints as to the kind of 
places the child would like to have for his things. Boxes, drawers, little cupboards 
with child-sized doors, knobs, sliding catches, hinged lids—are all fascinating to 
young children, and may be used in the service of training good habits. But all 
drawers, doors, fastenings, and the like should be very smooth running, easily 
managed and convenient to the reach of the child, otherwise the friction and 
effort necessary to get things and put them away will seriously interfere with the 
habits which we are seeking to establish. We must never make the paths of 
virtue too hard or stony for little feet to tread. Here again the psychologist comes 
to our rescue, and explains that in early moral life the “pleasant” and the “desir¬ 
able” in the child’s experience are always identified with the “good.” Thus it is 
imperative to us to see that doing right things the right way gives satisfaction 
to our little child, instead of making such acts a strain upon his nerves, and thus 
contrary to his inclination. 

So look about you for the special corner in your house which is to belong to 
your little children, where all their “things” may be kept. Preferably it should 
be a room which if need be may combine play-room, nursery and sleeping-room. 
Possibly it may be a section of your sewing room, or a window corner of your 
dining room, or even the triangular section back of your upright piano! That 
last suggestion has been tried out successfully in many a kindergarten for the 
“play-house” center. 

It is sometimes a question as to whether we Americans realize that homes, 
after all, are instituted for the children. In planning for a house, a place is very 
deftly and easily arranged for the “Pullman” breakfast room, yet there seems to 
be no space to spare for the little child’s needs. You say he has the whole house. 
Not so! for the whole house in this case means none of it especially for him. It 
does not serve his purposes well, and such lack of consideration is apt to end in 
adult responsibility for his belongings, or the poor housekeeping which exhibits 



Later Childhood 


245 


children’s possessions, toys, furniture and “clutter” from one end of the house 
to the other. 

The English way of devoting the upper story to the nursery had its great 
advantages, but such arrangements are not possible under our American condi¬ 
tions. Nor would it serve our purposes, either, for little children are more closely 
a part of our everyday life here; they are at table with us, and they tend to share 
the whole of family life as in no other country, perhaps. Hence we should be all 
the more careful to provide for their special needs. Space in which to work and 
play, places and furniture all their own are, then, essential needs. 

Home Equipment. Of course, only the furnishings which will help in the 
carrying out of the handwork activities will be the ones suggested here, but there 
are so many practical and economical suggestions which will be offered that even 
the mother in the tiniest apartment can have some choice as to what would be 
possible in order to serve the ends we have discussed. 

The play-house screen. This type of screen can be of any form from a 
simple three-leaved screen to a very complete play-house screen, with a front 
door, windows in the side folds, window-boxes, curtains, and all the accessories 
which delight the child heart. It may be as elaborate or as simple as ingenuity or 
purse permits. It is a valuable asset in the small apartment or bungalow, in giving 
the child a sense of place and possession, and in protecting the rest of the house 
from the disorder of many childish things. The accompanying illustrations show 
two designs for the play-house screen, and any ingenious father can adapt the 
suggestions for his own making. 

The cupboard. A built-in cupboard, three to four feet in height and five 
feet long, gives very satisfactory space for the child’s playthings. One part of it 
should have a door with deep cubby-holes behind, for his toys; the shelves, or 
perhaps a drawer or two, will keep his papers, tools, and other materials in good 
shape. This plan for the low cupboard provides a deep shelf above, for books and 
pictures, or a plant. A bookcase can be used by curtaining with gingham or any 
soft washable material. The upper shelf, which is harder to reach, may be for 
very special things. One I saw had the best tea-set neatly placed on the top shelf. 
Lacking any real cupboard or set of old bookshelves all his own, one part of the 
buffet, a big drawer in the china closet or in the hall could be this child’s. Mark¬ 
ing compartments or shelves with pictures will help to tell the little child where 
things belong, and where he can find them next time , if he will remember to put 
them away. Never forget that his place for possession must be easiest of access. 

The table. It should be low, stoutly built, and plain. It is a waste of money 
to buy flimsy fancy child’s furniture. Straight line designs with corners curved, 
should be considered, in suitable sizes. Gaiety of color can be added by paint- 




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ing in warm grey, blue or cream, with applied or pasted-on designs. Child-like 
motifs of Mother Goose figures, dolls, toys, and animals or flowers may be cut 
from cretonnes and glued upon table, chairs and cupboard doors. Adding shellac 
will give durability to the design. Another delightful asset of the little table 
is a drawer, in which many treasures may be kept. If there are several children 
in the family, a kitchen table can be found which has a circular top and folding 
leaves, to make it of convenient sizes. The legs can be cut down to the twenty- 
four inch height and “gliders” may be put on them. This makes a very prac¬ 
ticable piece of furniture. A plain chair and a rocker, of which there are many 
good designs on the market, complete this simple equipment, except for a chest. 

The chest should have a lid that fastens back so that it will not fall upon the 
child’s head or arm as he works in it. It is for the purpose of keeping blocks in 
a very convenient and accessible manner. (For detail, see “Blockbuilding.”) 

It may be any size suitable to space and uses, and should be on castors. A 
very simple chest can be made of a soap box or cracker box, with “gliders” put 
underneath. Sometimes cleats are nailed across the bottom at the two ends and 
wooden wheels are fastened on. A good coat of paint and a stout cord in the 
front top edge will give you a very serviceable piece of furniture, and a toy as 
well, for carrying and holding the blocks. This little contrivance, which is being 
used in many kindergartens, is a great help in teaching children to take care of 
their building materials. They love to haul the blocks away in the wagon, and for 
























































































Later Childhood 


247 



the small number that an individual child has, the same “wagon” serves as a place 
in which to keep them. 

Other suggestions as to ways and means of keeping track of and places for 
the children’s occupations will be brought in with the detail of special kinds of 
handwork. The aim in giving these suggestions is that they may serve as hints 
to parents for adaptation to suit special conditions of each home. All of this 
planning and arranging for little people’s needs takes so much time, you may say. 
Well, so it does, but it does not need to be a burden. It has to be, however, frankly 
accepted as a responsibility, because it is so worth while and has so many returns 
in relation to the child’s whole training. 

Mrs. Washburn says, “The more time and attention of the right sort given 
to the young child, the less time will need to be given as he grows older.” That is 
why the old-fashioned attitude that “It is easier to do it myself than to show my 
child how” never gets us anywhere. Mothers are bound to be teachers, if they 
would fulfill their motherhood; never forget this. So the above rule applies most 
surely to our provision for helping children gain in sense of possession and re¬ 
sponsibility, and happiness in wholesome occupation. Part of the mother’s con¬ 
tribution, then, is understanding. When we appreciate that our efforts are worth 
while, we are content to give whatever time and strength are necessary. Ingenuity 
and resourcefulness on the part of parents always bear a close relation to original¬ 
ity on the part of their children. 










































































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TRAINING IN SELF-CARE AND HOME ACTIVITIES AS A PHASE 

OF HANDWORK 

The home alone, or in a large measure, can give a very important training in 
self-care and in household occupations which are beginnings of hygiene and phy¬ 
sical education. Have you ever thought of the variety of daily activities in the care 
of person, in simple duties about the house, to which you may train your children ? 
Have you ever thought that they are genuine forms of manual work, the begin¬ 
nings of household arts? To look beyond our present effort to the future gives to 
us a sense of values. 

“The great opportunities of life come in living so as to do as much as pos¬ 
sible for one’s self and others; and children can begin all this work by helping to 
dress and undress themselves and by doing everyday things in the nursery.”— 
Margaret McMillan. 

Hand-training, body-training and eye-training are all habits of self-care. 
Learning to wash face and hands, to brush the teeth, to fasten shoes, to dress and 
undress, to bathe himself properly, to brush and comb his own hair—all of these 
attained mean a remarkable degree of skill and eye and hand coordination. An 
excerpt from Miss McMillan’s The Nursery Schools will show you an interesting 
analysis recorded by a trained observer of the movements which a child of three 
gets under his control by learning to bathe himself. To manage with ease and 
dispatch a series of acts which before he could only do clumsily is what we mean 
by coordination. 

“Our children enter the bath and there, as a rule, we find Low helpless, weak 
and uneducated are their poor little hands. They sit down and splash a little, or 
stand idly waiting for some one to come and help them.” 

“It is forgotten that this limp hand has a brain center,—not one, but many. 

A large part of the brain is involved in this limpness. These centers, like all 

the others, are developed by use.” 

“There are twenty-six movements involved in the common task of washing 
and another twenty or more in dressing, and our children of five on entrance can¬ 
not make five, in some cases, out of forty-five. Yet they should make them all 
at the age of three, and be as expert at five in them as in walking, moving or 
jumping. And they would be glad to learn.” 

Habits of Helpfulness and Responsibility. Three- and four-year-old children 
can learn to pick up their clothes. Pegs or a clothes-tree easily reached by the 

child are great helps in fixing this habit. A gay chintz bag with pockets for his 

own little boots will tempt any child to be a caretaker. Five- and six-year-old 
children can help younger ones to dress, and can learn to open and spread back 
their own bedclothes for the morning airing. 






Later Childhood 


249 


Learning to Fetch and Carry. We need more faith in child ability to carry 
things. Dr. Montessori has shown how much training in steadiness and poise the 
responsibility of bringing in a hot dish to the table requires. Our children need 
more practice in doing such things. Helping mother to set the table can begin 
very early. The little “toddler” learns to carry a dish clumsily yet carefully with 
his two hands, while the six- and seven-year-olds may begin to serve at table, 
helping between courses. Some one little responsibility only should be their share, 
of course, as all this gain in independence, poise and social service must be of 
slow growth, and a source of pleasure to the child through approbation and a 
sense of “being big.” A seven-year-old (boy or girl), because physically well 
coordinated, has a fair degree of fine muscle control and may be permitted to 
help serve at a tea or an informal dinner party. Such an experience is a great 
joy and pride to the child, and puts a stamp upon all that he has been trying to do 
in the way of being helpful and skillful. Carrying a tray with napkins or spoons, or 
the cake basket into the living room is something.very “desirable.” 

Children love to arrange flowers, and they can be trained to do this very 
early. Carrying the vase or the potted plant back to its place after being watered 
is a fine training in grasping and holding—fundamental control for hand and 
fingers. The investment in several low bowls with flower holders will have a 
rich return in children’s good habits, esthetic feeling and a growing love for beauty 
in the home. The low bowl shape is very stable, and fitting a stem in each little 
flower-hole is an instinctive delight to most children. One bowl should belong 
to his own “corner.” 

We need, also, to recognize the mental elements in such training. Taking 
simple directions, running errands, returning with message executed, are tests 
of intelligence, and are so used in the mental tests for the five-year-olds. But 
we must be very patient with children, and give them a little opportunity for 
errand-doing each day, if we are to expect good results. Also, we are to avoid 
the other extreme, and to remember that little children have business of their 
own, other than doing odd jobs for grown-ups. A tiny errand for the littlest one 
each day, a middle-sized one or two for the five-year-old, and a quite re¬ 
sponsible bit of fetching and carrying for the seven-year-old each day will be of 
great value. 

Such training in self-care and in daily sharing—a tiny sharing of the family 
occupations—is a fine equipment for any child to have, in its emphasis upon indi¬ 
vidual control and social traits. The mother who does this well has made a cur¬ 
riculum for the habit training of her children which cannot be bettered. At these 
early years little distinction should be made in these occupations as to boys and 
girls, except possibly for some special aptitude. The occupations suggested are 



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good in every way—good physical exercise, some for fundamental and others for 
accessory muscular control—and each carries with it social and mental accompani¬ 
ments. There is a good physical release and using of bottled-up energy in five- 
year-old Bobbie as well as in seven-year-old Rose when they shovel off the snow 
on the front door-step. And, again, Rose may take more esthetic delight in ar¬ 
ranging flowers, but Bobbie will be willing to help her pick them, and will want to 
stick some into his own flower-holder. 

HABITS AND STANDARDS 

Keep in mind a simple principle of progression in habit formation. We are 
beginning to speak of a “habit-curriculum,” meaning a graded series of what 
habits to expect in growing children. Patience will be less strained, happier re¬ 
sponses will be made by our children, if we set the tasks and guide the activities 
very simply and carefully for our little ones. Expect much of it to be playful 
or in the spirit of play. “One, two, button my shoe!” is a greater incentive to 
the small sister tugging at her buttonholes than is a command. 

Habits are daily reiterated and recurring lines of conduct, which when repeated 
a sufficient number of times will tend to act automatically, or nearly so. So as 
many good habits as possible should be established early in life, become auto¬ 
matic, and thus leave the growing child free and ready for the new learning in 
his widening life. 

Attitudes are in a way habits, also; an attitude or emotion of cheerfulness, 
of industry, of friendliness, can be inculcated day-by-day, here a little and there 
a little, until the sunniness of disposition, the dependability, the courtesy, and 
friendliness of your little child can be counted upon as a habit may be, to carry 
him over and through the vicissitudes of life. 

Standards are built up by both habits and attitudes. Adults, the environ¬ 
ment, life itself sets up standards for the young child, so we have to be very 
careful as to what we are offering for his imitation. 

The most important contribution that the mother can make is right here in 
the standards set up, the attitudes established, the habits or skills started in his 
daily occupation. Independence, initiative, orderliness, cheeriness, joy and the 
delight of life itself (which is childhood's chief asset), self-care, creativity, ex¬ 
ecutive ability and dependableness, control of hands and body, coordination and 
skill, observation and mental alertness—all of these and many more habit atti¬ 
tudes may be set up by wise occupations, and the standards growing out of them 
are many. “It is better to play and to work than to be idle.” “It is best work 
that is wanted.” “Helping mother is great fun.” “I can hang up all my own 
things.” “I did not forget a single errand.” 




Later Childhood 


251 


At no later time than in these first seven years can a child learn so well to be 
constantly and purposefully busy. Note that latter word. He is going to be 
busy at something; our guidance will help make that busy-ness more and more 
purposeful and worth while to himself. What an asset in later life such a training 
will be! To be actively, happily busy, to have learned to help, to have run er¬ 
rands, to have made worth while things, to have shared cheerfully in the work 
and play of the family, and to have established an “emotional-habit”—the attitude 
of liking it all! 

HANDWORK ACTIVITIES IN THE HOME 

CHIEF INTERESTS 

These interests show themselves in two ways, which may be classified so as 
to help us in guiding our children. The first way of classifying might be deter¬ 
mined by the age of the child in relation to materials, showing manipulation 
interests, the play interests and later work interests. These all merge into each 
other, but they hint to us of the natural progression towards which we can aim. 
This is taken up in full under the topic Progression. 

The second way of classifying the interests may be as to the ways the mater¬ 
ials themselves are used. The range of constructive or making interests points out 
the strong tendency for as varied an experience as possible, and the list is long. 

(a) Constructing or making with boxes, paper, string, wood and spools. 

(b) Sewing with cloth and cardboard. 

(c) Building with blocks, sticks, furniture, etc. 

(d) Moulding or modelling with sand, mud, clay, snow, dough. 

(e) Drawing with crayons, chalk, pencil, paints. 

(f) Cutting and folding for constructive purposes, and for picture making. 

(g) Stringing beads, seeds, buttons, etc. 

(h) Cooking, household activities, chiefly in play form. 

(i) Gardening, chiefly in play form, assisting and sharing. 

(j) Collecting, picking, gathering, pasting, and sometimes classifying, 

chiefly small miscellaneous articles and nature materials. 

A very long list, you may say, but it is not in the least exhaustive and does 
not include many of the things done by hand in each busy day of the child s life. 

THE MATERIALS AT HAND 

What have you in the home which children like to use and which they have 
always tried to get hold of to “make” with? First of all, every home has practi¬ 
cally all the tools a young child needs except possibly a good, small saw. For 
children need very few tools; their business is to get acquainted with and train 
those very wonderful tools, their hands. But, like us, they also wish to extend their 
ability and to use tools other than their hands. 




252 


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Check off this list, and you will be surprised at its simplicity and at the 
equipment you have at hand: 


TOOLS 

Scissors: a five or six inch pair of good steel, sharp-pointed scissors. 

Nails: of several sizes, with flat heads. 

Hammer: of any medium weight and size (not too large). 

Needles: coarse darning needles, preferably one packer’s or burlap needle— 
bodkins. 

Pencils: big thick ones—blue, red and black. 

Paste: the source of supply being the flour bin, water and a recipe (see be¬ 
low). Also the real cream paste on father’s desk. 

Paste-sticks: toothpicks and bits of flat sticks. 

MATERIALS 

Boxes: Laundry, cardboards, backs of writing tablets. 

Papers: Newspaper, wrapping paper (always save the colored), paper bags, 
tissue paper, backs of magazines, unused portions of writing paper from 
letters. 

String: Cords of various kinds, sizes and colors. A bag of all extra bits of 
zephyrs and flosses. 

Cloth: Rag-bag and ribbon box. A special bag for suitable sewing materials 
for children,—gingham, soft wool, silk pieces, rags suitable for rag¬ 
weaving and braiding. 

Spools: All sizes and kinds. 

Buttons: Especially those with large holes. 

Wood: All soft wood—save the Christmas boxes, grocery boxes, etc. 

MATERIALS WHICH MAY BE ADDED AT SMALL COST 

Saw Colored paper 

Beads Paints, in boxes and cans 

Blocks Coarse wools and cotton-roving for 

Colored paper weaving. 

PASTE RECIPE 

One teaspoon of alum. Four cups water. One cup flour. 

Mix flour with a little water and beat to cream. Dissolve alum in the rest 
of the water and bring this to a boil. Stir into cream and cook for twenty minutes, 
or until clear. Stir occasionally, for the mixture burns easily. Strained oil of 
cloves may be added. 




Later Childhood 


253 


How these materials and tools serve to awaken interests and constructive 
tendencies: 

There is a very simple law of psychology which shows the close relation 
between action or response and the outside stimulus which awakens it, and also 
the fact that the response corresponds to or is like the stimulus. Any instinctive 
tendency will be aroused by a kindred stimulus. A baby will seize a rattle and 
begin to shake it violently. A two-year-old will try to mark when he gets hold 
of a pencil or crayon. Put any youngster into a sandpile and he will at once begin 
to “dig inor upon a hay stack, and he will start sliding. Books suggest turning 
pages and looking for pictures, while being with people who are at work sets one’s 
fingers tingling with the desire to work, too. 

We find the home, then, may be rich in the right kind of way, with materials 
stimulating to good activity, and with an atmosphere conducive to self-employment 
and happy work. The only fact remaining is the question of method. 

Method : That has a rather fearsome sound outside of the schoolroom, yet 
after all method is just the “how to do” of things, just a way of organizing our 
ideas and of seeing how we may “get them across.” We wish the handwork in 
the home to be of greatest value to the children of that home. Then isn’t it 
better to take stock of our ideas, and to see what we need to consider, and the 
simplest way to go about it all? 

What we desire for little children is that they may grow more self-helpful, 
may be happier in their work and play, and may develop habits of self-employment 
and independence. We want to help children to help themselves. In modern 
elementary education we have tried out this way and found it good, so we have 
given a new name. We have called it the “Project Method.” All it means, in 
a nutshell, is that an individual should learn to undertake things, to purpose, to 
enter whole-heartedly into all that he does, to become a leader able to plan, able to 
execute and to achieve worthy ends. 

Are you, then, a “project mother?” You may easily become one. If you 
understand the steps which lead to purposeful activity for your little ones, if you 
help him to do for himself without doing for him, if you supply suitable materials 
to meet his needs, if you help him to see, and to attain his own ends, if you appre¬ 
ciate (and thus emphasize) his achievements, if you see in what he has done the 
promise of the next and better doing, then indeed you are a project mother. 

It is at once the easiest and the hardest method to pursue. Easiest, because 
it is such a natural way, and because teacher and child grow so rapidly and so 
happily in their learning together. Hardest, because it is a subtler, more indirect, 
more intelligent way, because it requires more insight, more appreciation, than 
the autocratic dictating method has ever required, or ever could. 




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Progression. So far as progress through this method is concerned, it is 
just a gradual development from the early natural methods of the child’s learning 
to the later ones. We spoke of the “lessons” he was learning and of their sequence. 
So we must expect and encourage much manipulative play for the two- to four- 
year-old and supply the materials for it. Bead-stringing, pounding nails in wood, 
piling up blocks, slashing paper, together with all sorts of handling, investigation 
and exploitation must be expected and provided for. It is marvelous the amount 
of information and fact-gathering which the young child gets in this way. Pro¬ 
fessor Preyer* has said that “a satisfactory theory of play is still wanting, yet a 
man does not learn through any kind of instruction or study in later life anything 
like so much as the child learns in the first four years of his carefree existence 
through the perceptions and ideas acquired in his play.” 

The second lesson and the method to be used is play, or the use of all this 
acquired information and the fundamental bodily control which the child has 
gained, in serving his real play purposes. “Play is a ceaseless activity, enlarging 
the possibilities of human achievement.”— Sedgwood. 

Play is the work of the four- to six-year-old child, and we distinguish it from 
work only because so far as the child is concerned he is more immersed in the joy 
of the activity than in the result. Hence, play has no strain; it is free and spontan¬ 
eous, not bound down by necessity, as is work; but, contrary to our adult notions, 
it is never aimless; it is serious, and it should grow more and more purposeful as 
the child develops. Play aims are very near and vital, and the constructive plays 
of the five- and six-year children should show definite gain in planning and working 
out little projects. Through the six- and seven-year periods, and on, the play-work 
ends show more definitely. While the boy and girl of this later period still make 
very crude things, yet they are always effective and are for the most part for 
use—chiefly toys or accessories for their dramatic plays. Part of our method 
should be to see and guide this working element so that our six-year-old doesn’t 
rest content with the four- or five-year-old occupation and result. The six- and 
seven-year-old children may be expected to plan handwork which takes longer 
time to complete and which involves processes not always in themselves interesting. 
The measuring and sawing for the “real” hut the boys are making, the sewing of 
the rags for the big doll-house rug, may get a little monotonous, yet ability to keep 
steadily at the task and the habit of persistence are traits necessary to successful 
work in later years. The need for the article urges its manufacture, and a little 
encouragement from father or mother helps to keep before children of this age a 
growing standard of work. 


♦The Infant Mind. 




Later Childhood 


255 


BLOCK BUILDING 

The problem of block building at home is a rather difficult one, as a satis¬ 
factory equipment is more expensive and far more cumbersome than the rest of 
the handwork materials, but the values in such occupation are very great. Chil¬ 
dren who attend the kindergartens of to-day love the blocks because they are 
so big, so easily handled, so readily obtained from the big chests or trays, and so 
easily put away again. Moreover, they always build upon the floor, a method which 
came from the home, and which at last our kindergartens have realized is the 
most natural and healthful way of playing with the blocks; and they may leave 
such building a week at a time if they wish to carry out a play, or to go on with 
their building plan. 

How much of this can be done at home is a matter of place as well as space. 
In a playroom or a spacious corner, the five-year-old, busily engaged in building 
a railway station for his train of cars, would know that he could leave it on the 
floor to play with again to-morrow. His purpose in building and the end to be 
attained are very important elements in the working attitude which we wish to 
have develop out of his play. How many of us would be interested any length of 
time in any sort of occupation, if each day, like the story of the princess’ weaving, 
it had to be raveled and started again from the beginning? 

The writer is fully convinced,' from long experience and observation, that a 
large part of the value of building (all but the manipulative values, in fact) is lost 
when children have to destroy their constructions and put away the material before 
they have completed their play-ideas. The architectural and imaginative ideas 
which are evidently in process of development in the mind of the child who is a 
good builder are easily dissipated, and attention and sustained interest is lost by 
this destruction of the concrete form. Children will work for as long a period 
as a week upon a house, a big boat, a bridge or a train, and will change, shape and 
reshape their work, as they play with it, thus defining and making clearer their 
imagery and achieving the result which they had in their minds. Also, the play 
incentive is stronger. One five and a half year-old girl not only built her house 
over three times, but she changed the porches from big front porches to a sleeping 
porch for the whole family as she played out the experience she had in mind. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR BLOCK BUILDING AT HOME 

For the three- and four-year-olds the chief interest is in piling up and knock¬ 
ing down, shoving about the floor, and packing in and out of the box. This 
means much noise and activity, for activity’s sake alone, but nature is always 
wise and we can see hand-and-eye control, finger stretching and strengthen¬ 
ing, balance, and big, wholesome bodily exercise developing from this experience. 





256 


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These are some of the reasons for the noisy floor playing; there should be a 
sufficient quantity of large-sized blocks so that the child of this age can busy 
himself as he delights to do, in tugging and hauling them about the floor, or on 
the airy back porch. Besides these large blocks of brick shape, he needs bricks 
and cubes. Any good two-inch cubes, alphabet blocks or otherwise, which come 
in a box into which he loves to fit them, are good. Bricks to correspond 
(2" x 2" x 4") and domino blocks for the smaller size give the child all he needs 
for his manipulation purposes. A set of tower blocks or a nest of blocks is a good 
additional toy. His building, if it may be called that at this period, is quite 
symbolic, for all he wants is an easily managed block or two to represent his 
“choo-choo,” while he himself is the chief actor, being train, boat or whistle as 
the case may be. 

The five- to six-year-old has learned to manage blocks and to fit them together 
fairly well, so he wishes to use this knowledge in making the buildings of his 
imaginary world—“real” things, such as boats for his dolls, a garage into which 
he can wheel his toy automobile, houses, stores and furniture. His ideas are 
growing rapidly, and his constructive interests are concerned with play results, and 
the forms he makes are more and more lifelike. Two little girls built the inside of 
a house, and put in all the furniture, including “trim,” bits of colored paper for 
covers, soft pillows and the like. This was the living room for their little dolls, and 
they played in it and with it for several days. To meet this need for better 
representation, the child of this period needs more variety in his blocks. He can 
and does want the cubes and bricks, but he wants posts and roof pieces and boards, 
so as to make more realistic objects for his play. 

A box of blocks like those of the Hennessy Building Blocks* is very good 
for the five- to seven-year period, and would serve all the block building purposes 
at home. They are quite expensive, but of hard wood, very finely cut and durable. 
If the total amount put into flimsy and perishable toys at Christmas time were 
to be put together, such an outfit could be purchased. Another way of getting 
fair-sized block materials of sufficient variety for the needs of older children is to 
order from the same company one box each of the so-called “Fifth” and “Sixth 
Gifts,” a cabalistic name which will, however, bring to your door some very 
accurately and carefully made blocks. These can be put in bulk into a larger 
receptacle and are excellent material for building purposes. Many satisfactory 
reports have come to the writer from homes where this investment has been made. 
They are lasting and have provided interest for several ages of children. By 
doubling their measurements, which are based on the two-inch cube, the local 
carpenter can make larger bricks. Two-by-fours will make quantities of good 


‘Thomas Charles Company, Chicago, Illinois. 





Later Childhood 


257 


building material for outdoor work, but they need sandpapering. Out-of-door 
play with blocks is very valuable, and should be accented as much as possible. If 
your environment includes a woodpile and kindling, one of the best invitations to 
wholesome occupation which has ever been invented is at hand for your six- and 
seven-year-old! 

Puzzle blocks and the intricate stone blocks of various kinds on the market 
are of little value at this earlier period, as they call for very exact and accurate 
handling. Number and form concepts and the relation of forms and sizes to 
each other are basic experiences in preparing children for mathematics. Block¬ 
building emphasizes all this fundamental work in numbers. 

WOODWORK 

The Place. This should be where father works, if possible, or at any rate 
in a special place, with a wood-box, where a box of nails, blocks and bits of soft 
wood, wooden boxes, a stout hammer and a little saw may be kept. Out-of-doors 
on the back steps, in the shed, or in shut-in weather, in the basement, these are 
places where small boys may spend many a busy hour in experimenting, discover¬ 
ing, controlling, and finally making toys and objects of wood. And how they 
love it! There is a vigor to the experimentation with hammer, nails and wood, 
and a gain in fundamental control which is satisfying, at least, to the little pounder. 
What does the four-year-old do? He just pounds! What happens? A manual 
training teacher tells of a three-year-old child in the country who with his grand¬ 
father’s hammer drove a soft wood block solidly full of big-headed nails. He 
learned to drive them straight and true, and he acquired an unusual degree of 
eye-and-hand control through this simple experimentation. It was a valuable 
experience in acquiring skill under entirely natural conditions. Just pounding! 

The five-year-old can do many surprisingly good things with wood. He can 
make wagons out of starch boxes and soap boxes, and furniture, very crude, but 
satisfactory for this period. He discovers that a strip of wood and a cube-shaped 
block nailed together, make a very good doll’s chair, or one big enough to sit in, 
if the cube is a box and the strip a board; also, this same box with a strip of 
board nailed across it makes a table. He makes little ladders and funny little 
aeroplanes. With just a little help and the use of a brace and bit, he can make a 
Jenny Wren bird house out of a chalk box. The constructive ability develops very 
rapidly with children whose interests, or whose parents’ interests, lead them to 
working with wood. The results seem to have a sense of permanence and value 
which put a premuim upon child activity, and build up confidence and the feeling 
of being a power. 

With the six- and seven-year-olds we notice a change into very realistic 
construction of toys or articles they need in their play. Wheelbarrows, fences— 



258 


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“Keep off the grass” signs, bird houses, wagons, huts, and all sorts of outdoor 
contrivances are put together in crude but usable shape. Here is where father 
needs to apply the same rule of taking time to teach his boy, instead of doing it 
for him, that mother has to use so constantly. A father of a seven-year-old boy 
made him a clever wooden sled, and while Jimmie hovered around and picked up 
chips or shavings, daddy did all the work. The sad part of it was that Jimmie 
could have made that sled, sawed the slanting sides in the mitre-box, and could 
have learned many valuable handwork and headwork lessons, had his father been 
a willing and patient teacher. 

PAINTING 

Are you willing to let your little youngster do real painting? If so, keep in 
a safe place several cans of ten-cent-store paints and an old brush or two. To 
be permitted to do real painting is a greatly appreciated joy as well as a good 
training in standards and in achievement. For not everything can be painted— 
oh, no! Painting is a special privilege for bits of work well done, for the “best” 
clay dish or wooden boat, or aeroplane. 

Painting the box-wagon which is to be used for hauling and holding blocks, 
and even painting, a little at a time, the furniture for the child’s own corner gives 
an hour’s occupation for several days to a five- or six-year-old child. During the 
war, five-year-old Roger made three wonderful (?) aeroplanes of wooden slats 
and a couple of spools, and he “camouflaged” them (using and understanding the 
word, yes, indeed!) with gray paint and wavy lines of black and green. Jimmie, 
only four, made a “gun” which he painted black, leaving several unpainted places 
for his fingers, so that he might carry it about with him before it was dry! 

The coffee cans and containers which are to hold crayons, beads and small 
paraphernalia in the play-corner can have the first coat applied by your small son 
or daughter, and when they are all painted the soft grey-blue or black or cream of 
the furniture they add to the color scheme and give the child a sense of 
sharing in the work to make his corner pretty. A six-year-old child can cut out 
and mount on the covers a design which adds daintiness to the effect. At bulb 
planting time the flower pot can be painted and even a little design may be put on it. 

Strawberry boxes make good receptacles for crayons and beads, and have 
the advantage of being open-topped. Grape or peach baskets are good holders for 
miscellaneous toys and materials. They can be stained with wood stains by the 
children. Use a stencil brush, size 5. 

Incidentally, this large brush work is the best preparation for blackboard 
writing and drawing at school, and gives children a good degree of skill in the 
handling of the brush. The free movement of painting a whole surface is always 




Later Childhood 


259 


a valuable first step in learning to paint. It is “washing” the paper on a larger 
scale. 

The child must have a painting apron for this work, and he can make it himself, 
as all that is necessary is an oblong of light-weight black oil-cloth and gay colored 
tapes. These may be sewed with big, crude stitches to the two sides of the oblong 
for strings. One tape may be sewed to the two corners of the narrow side for the 
neck. This simple apron made by the child is usable for clay work as well. 

THE USE OF PAINT BOX AND CRAYONS 

Provide a three-color paint box, and a number 7 paint brush, and the cheap 
manila paper which is supplied to the schools, or a white wrapping paper. Expect 
your child to work on the floor, lying flat, or sitting, and let him have big pieces 
of paper. Newspapers make protective “rugs” for this sort of work, and to lay 
down the newspaper before he begins is a good habit to establish. Free painting, 
daubing, letting pieces covered solid with color dry to use for cutting, gives 
the child first experience and chance to experiment with color. His love of 
color is dominant at this period, and the paint box gives him an opportunity to 
revel in it. Using the pieces afterwards to cut in strips for chain-making, or to 
cut up for colored baskets, or to fringe for doll-house rugs, gives him more and 
more motive for the daubing, and sets a little value upon it. This free work is of 
much greater value physically to the five-year-old than painting in books. Occa¬ 
sionally children of this age use the latter, but only to daub over the pictures. A 
six-year-old has sufficient hand-control to learn to paint inside the outlines of pic¬ 
tures, so the painting books begin to have value at this time. 

Crayons. To start with, children should have what is called the “Kinder¬ 
garten Crayons,” which come in six colors, with brown and black. They are five 
inches long and thick enough to be easily grasped. Again he must use big pieces 
of paper. He masters the use of crayons through scribbling. Nature never 
wastes her fundamental motions. All this scribbling is like babbling, and an 
essential step in the language of picture making. The three- or four-year-old must 
scribble in order to get skill, to be able to hold a pencil easily, and to learn to 
manage a variety of lines. Then, unlike the painting, he begins “picture writing.” 
Draw with him, mother; let him make parts of the picture. He’ll make a big 
round O, and you’ll put in eyes and nose and mouth. As you draw, talk to him, 
and how eagerly he seizes the crayon and goes on with the next “story.” Very 
soon he can make a great big round pumpkin, and a big red apple, and blue sky 
all over his paper. Then come stories of men and animals and Mother Goose 
rhymes, and other things. As his pictures become more translatable, he is ready 
for the surprise of a box of Crayonex or smaller wax crayons which enables him 





260 


The Foundation Library 


to make a more definite line. You will see evidences of design or arrangement 
very early in his crayoning: rows of little marks, balls in the four corners and 
the center, and so on. Seize every opportunity possible to suggest “trim” for 
the sake of the awakening sense of beauty which is manifested. Let him crayon or 
color any of the bits of construction he makes. The little girl will love to put a 
“design” on her apron, whether it be in crayons or with oil paints or pasting or 
sewing. It is all one, so far as the esthetic is concerned. The small boy loves 
to trim the soldier’s hat he is making for Washington’s birthday, or the armband 
or badge. 

The Blackboard. The child’s blackboard should be in daily use. This is 
one of the best occupations he can have. Its use has an indirect value in training 
the writing muscles, and the bodily posture is excellent, requiring as it does, 
erectness, reaching and the circular movements of the drawing itself. Interest 
in letter making and “writing” shows very soon in blackboard work, as the child’s 
blackboard has so many suggestions for outlining, picturing and printing. The 
\oung child’s first writing is always drawing, i. e., he has made no finely adjusted 
coordinations, no mechanism for writing, as the adult has. So he makes slow and 
arduous pictures of his word or letters. After much experience in drawing, for 
control, and in writing, for precision, he begins to write more easily. This 
occurs at about eight years of age. So if your child at home can have much 
opportunity and practice in free painting, drawing and crayoning, he will have a 
start towards mastery of the complex coordination necessary for handwriting. 

MODELING 

When we speak of modeling, we at once think of clay. But the child at 
home taught us long ago that modeling or moulding is an art not limited by our 
supply of materials for its expression. In fact, he was busy at making mud pies 
or moulding wet sand with hands or an old tin can, or digging out houses and 
tunnels, and making forts with snow, long before we awoke to the fact that this 
very strong instinctive tendency to make forms out of plastic materials was the 
basis of the sculptor’s art. The value to very young children lies, however, not 
so much in the esthetic elements which are the outcome of this occupation, but in 
the hand-training. Modeling in mud, clay, or sand gives a varied, amount of what 
are called fundamental movements of control of body and of arms and hand. 
Grasping, squeezing, patting, rolling and pounding such plastic materials give the 
best possible training to chubby little hands, fat, short fingers, and the weak, limp 
wrists. The exercises involved in this manipulation stretch the fingers, and give 
each one something to do with the rest of the hand (a very important point in 
hand coordination), strengthen the wrists, and define hand-and-arm movements. 






Later Childhood 


261 


g&sssssessssssssssseseeesssssessseessesssee&sessesseessee&is 

8S T| C *\| 

\»wJ>wy 

Ready To Fill 




CD 


Roll Clay into ‘Apples" on a Board. 

Make Thimble Dent in Each. Fill with Water, Keep in a Crockk 
MATERIALS FOR INDOOR OCCUPATIONS 


A large part of this play is out-of-doors in the sand pile or the snow drift, which 
means big, whole-body movements, and much stooping and bending of the trunk 
and limbs. 

For indoor occupation, plasticine or plasteline is a common substitute for 
clay, but clay powder purchased in a five-pound box makes a more satisfactory 
equipment. A stone crock to keep it in, and a piece of Sanatos to cover the play 
table while the children work at it, are all that is necessary. Only work up a 
pound at a time, and after it is in good shape teach the children to mould it into 
“apples” with a big thimble-dent in the top. Fill each dent with water, and cover 
the crock with a cloth. This will keep the clay in good condition for using while 
the interest in clay modeling is active. The young child needs plenty of op¬ 
portunity to work with the clay, with no results except his love of doing it. 

Five- and six-year-olds will make everything from cookies and “snakes” to 
marbles, Easter eggs, baskets and dishes. The dishes can be really used in their 
doll plays, and there is additional chance for esthetic training in painting them 
and coloring them with the water colors, or in the case of a fairly-good bowl, or 
vase, painting with grey, blue or black enamel paints. This makes the bit of 
pottery sufficiently permanent for many play uses. 

For play with sand, a sand pile in the back yard should be part of every 
family’s play equipment. The pail and shovel, with an old tin cup or two, are 
the only tools needed. This is a very social occupation, as well, for the only child 
who has a sand pile will never be a lonely child. In climates where winter stays 
for a number of months, a portable sand-box, made by father and big enough for 
the child to get in, is a great help in giving three-, four- and five-year-olds hours of 
busy occupation. This same box on gliders can be on the back porch in pleasant 
weather. Children use every sort of toy and utensil in the sand, and shells, peb¬ 
bles, sticks and aluminum toy dishes call forth a fine variety of activities which 
train hand and arm. 













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FREE-HAND CUTTING 

Children’s interest in cutting is very fundamental. They love to use the tool, 
and to make pictures. The desire to get hold of scissors and just cut comes very 
early with grasping and getting control of things. The child sees us making 
fascinating motions with those glittering things, and he can’t wait to try them. 
It is well to let a four-year-old do as much cutting and clipping and fringing with 
newspapers as he is willing to do to offset some of the mischief he may do. The 
rest of the time keep the scissors out of sight and reach! 

Later comes cutting out of pictures from old catalogs, seed annuals and 
magazines. Two little girls in the long ago used to spend many a happy indoor 
hour seated on the floor with a big dishpan in front of them, and the Youth’s 
Companion —the only illustrated paper in that house—to cut up as they chose. 
The only law was to keep all “scraps” inside the dishpan. 

As soon as some control of the scissors is shown, the child should cut to some 
purpose. Here comes in one of the values of bookmaking, as he can cut and paste 
in his little book until it is full of pictures. Other experiences in cutting cloth, 
in making strips for chains and paper for his constructions will give him by the 
time he is five a fair ability in the use of the scissors. When he discovers that he 
can not only cut out pictures for his picture books but can make pictures with 
the scissors, his interest grows. So you should be able to show him what he can 
do—how he can cut apples; how a big basket can be cut by folding the paper; 
how it can be filled with apples; how he can cut a dog that will stand up 
(a double-fold animal) trees and houses. But you must cut with him. The 
mother who can do things with her children is a rare playmate. The writer 
remembers the utter fascination of watching her mother cut out a big doll from 
a folded newspaper. You can all remember instances of that sort. One of the 
chief instincts of early childhood and one of his learning methods, too, is the love 
of watching movement. Children become absorbed in any novel movement. We 
never really lose this instinct—witness its use in advertising. If you see a 
closely-packed crowd in front of an exhibit window, the chances are that within 
is a mechanical device, showing how something is being made, or better yet, a 
human performer. 

So cut and draw with and for your children, for much more is involved 
than the intent observation on the part of your child. He is learning, and 
suddenly he says, “I can do that.” “Let me have the scissors.” “I want to 
make a doll, too.” “Please let me try to make a funny pig.” Then teach him 
how to do it. 

Never do his work for him. Always claim your own drawing or your own 



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cutting. “This one is mine, but you may make yours like it;” or, “You can make 
one, tooor, “I made this part, and you made this, so it is ours together!” For 
us to do the work, and then let the child claim it as his own, is a poor start in 
honesty of purpose and willingness to stand for one’s own results in later life. 

Teach children a way to make their own patterns; much independent and 
original work will depend upon this. The folded dress-pattern and doll patterns 
are interesting to make, and stand-up animals and trees add a great deal of inex¬ 
pensive equipment to their little plays. 

If you are very skillful with the scissors, “surprise” cuttings are a great 
delight, adding the puzzle interest to all the rest. Fold a square or circle into 
halves and fourths and make a few cuts of any sort. See what results. Let 
children imitate you, using newspaper squares. Folded in halves, the child can 
learn to cut trees and houses and all sorts of paper dolls. As he grows in skill, 
strings of dolls can be made. Fold an oblong piece four times, then cut the half 
doll as diagram (a) suggests, then pull it out—the string of dolls. Make a ring 
of children by folding a 6-inch square on its diagonals, and then cut on the thick 
diagonal fold, being sure that the arms are cut through the outer edge of the 
triangle (see diagram b). Six-year-old children can do this nicely and get the 

















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incidental training in folding. This can easily be demonstrated to your satisfaction. 

And snow-stars! How six- and seven-year-old children delight to make and 
mount them! See how like the truly ones they are; no two alike. The National 
Geographic Magazine for January, 1923, had some beautiful plates of snow- 
stars. The process of making is really not difficult, after the folding in thirds 
is mastered. Follow the diagram carefully, and see what results you get. Let 
children practice folding circles of newspapers, to get the process in mind. Then 
let them make white tissue circles, which they can mark out with a can cover 
or a small saucer. The choicest snowflakes can be mounted on blue paper in their 
scrap books. A very simple transparency for a winter picture can be made by 
pasting baby-blue tissue paper on a pane of glass in the window. Then paste 
some of the snowflakes on it. 

These are just a few of the many delightful possibilities resulting from 
work with the scissors. Remember that they are a tool for picture making, 
design making, patterns and processes in constructive occupations; so skill in 
cutting develops a good deal of general ability and resourcefulness. 

One illustration of folded-cutting construction, as shown on the next page, will 
serve for a variety of suggestions in paper construction. 












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A WORD ON DESIGN 

Design starts very simply in the love of rhythmic movement or repetitional 
sounds or arrangement, as is shown in the sound of pounding, or the stringing 
of beads, or the pasting of rows of objects. It includes love of “trim,” or 
making things “pretty,” whether or not the results would justify to our eyes what is 
done. This tendency shows very early, and we do not begin to make the use 
of it that we should. In all the handwork of which we have been speaking, 
chances for trim occur, suggestions for better arrangement can be made, and 
appreciation expressed for any attempts to make “pretty.” 

Esthetic appreciation is fed from two sources—impressions and expression. 
The surroundings are absorbed by the plastic, impressionable nature of the young 
child, and so we want him to live in an environment which includes charm of 
color and line and choice pictures and music; and we want him to hear and to see 
the best things of life. 

On the other hand, he must begin to express his own esthetic feelings and 
to be the “artist in embryo” in all that he does, dramatically, musically, or with 
his hands. His dramatic and musical expression are much more genuinely 





















































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Hearts and “Windows" for Making Valentines to Be Cut on Double Fold 




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Ends 


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artistic than is his handwork or his drawing - . Crudeness of expression is dominant 
here, so we must early learn to recognize artistic tendencies, and thus help him 
to give them further expression. Then he will start on his school career with 
the foundation without which his art work and his appreciation will be sadly 
limited. 

Keep your small family busy when preparations for a picnic are pending 
and they are proverbially “under foot,” with making picnic plates and napkins 
“pretty.” You have little idea, until you try it, how simply and well children 
from five to seven can design when the space is regulated (as by the border of 
the plate) and the material has a good surface for working. Very attractive 
designs result simply from making color or lines with the crayons around the 
border. Little flowers repeated about the edge, or trees, or “apples,” by their 
repetition make a pretty plate. Two children, busy at their little table or desk, 
can be happily engaged in this for a half hour at a time. Results are better, of 
course, if all during the winter they had been “trimming” the things they have 
been making, and have learned to use crayon or brush or scissors fairly well. 

There are few things which children make to which a bit of color or 

















































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trim cannot be added. The present-day fashions are a continual stimulus to 
children’s decorative instinct. They have aprons and dresses, with big, simple 
flower, fruit or animal cut-outs sewed on pocket or hem. They see hats trimmed 
with flat appliques of gay colors. They carry, or see mother carry, a shiny black 
bag with coarsely embroidered flowers or balls on it. Their own little bedroom 
may have a hand-painted set of furniture in it, with poster-like simplicity of 
design. Materials, designs and tones of color are simple and flat enough to be 
near-suggestions for their own type of decorative ability. A five-year-old showed 
with pride the yellow chicken on her pockets, and in every drawing she made her 
figures were trimmed with yellow chickens. Another child wore a dress to 
kindergarten with orange discs on it, from which dangled little black worsted 
balls. A six-year-old promptly made an orange-colored crepe dress for one of 
the dolls, with black worsted knots for trim. 

A bag which had a couching design in long lines ending with gay-colored 
wooden balls was immediately reproduced with manila paper, and the same design 
crayoned on it. Why? Because such designs are simple enough to attract the 
attention of the small child and definite enough to inspire imitation. Children 
do not attempt to imitate Chinese embroidery, no matter how much they may 
love its colors, or love to touch it. It is too elaborate in design, too subtle in color 
to suggest imitation. 



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MAKING CHAINS 

Stringing beads and chain making are very primitive and deep-seated ten¬ 
dencies. All children love to make chains, and a three-year-old will become quieted 
and absorbed with a shoestring and some big wooden beads. The easy control, 
the continued repetition of the movement of picking up the bead and pushing the 
metal end of the string, is very satisfying to a youngster. 

The mother who puts coarse cord and big darning needles into her camp 
outfit is a wise mother. The hours of happy occupation which can be spent in 
















Later Childhood 


269 


stringing rose-haws, seeds, hollow reeds or “snake-grass” and berries cannot 
be counted. 

The materials are simple: Spools, buttons, large and small wooden beads, 
pop corn and cranberries for festive times, nature materials of all sorts collected 
on trips, shoestring, coarse cord, old window cords knotted at one end, packer’s 
needles, bodkins and coarse darning needles complete the equipment, except for 
the containers. 

Use cardboard cartons or oatmeal cartons which come with covers; these 
are durable and noiseless. They are practical, and they help to suggest classify¬ 
ing, keeping all the buttons in one, and so forth. Coffee cans are also very good 
for beads, spools and crayons. They can be painted as suggested under “Paint¬ 
ing;” a row of these on a shelf of the child’s cupboard is almost as fascinating 
as the jam closet! 

The series of suggestions for chain making will be given in sequence from 
the easier kinds to the harder. They are all good occupation from time to time, 
and the later suggestions carry over into textile work calling for more permanent 
results. 

Paper chains can be made from newspaper, wrapping paper, wall paper, and 
strips of various colors obtained from the printing office. The problem is simple, 
but your four-year-old has to be taught how to paste a “ring” by lapping over 
one end of the four-inch strip upon the other instead of sticking them together 
haphazard. Then he must slip the next strip through this ring and lap over its 
ends the same way. After he has mastered these two simple but quite particular 
movements, the rest of the occupation is his, and he will work as long as his 
love of repetition or his desire lasts to compete with another’s “longest” chain. 

Five- and six-year-old children should learn to cut their own chain strips, 
measure lengths, and gradually plan or “design” their colors. An old wall paper 
book of samples makes fine material, and assists in planning many pretty designs. 
Where color is lacking, the crayonex or the paint box comes in handy, and the 
much-painted sheet of paper may serve for good strips of red or blue or black 
to combine with the wall-paper strips. 

For older children the interest in simple chain making is gone, except for 
outdoor work in making daisy and clover chains, or in making the pine-needle 
loops. Stringing and knotting pine cones and nuts require considerable precision 
and hand control, which is better work for older children. 

Finger crocheting and spool knitting appeals to this same interest, though 
the processes are more complex and include interest in sewing and shaping, 
as well. 

Finger Crocheting. Rags sewed as for rag carpets, or coarse cotton-roving 




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which may be ordered of school-supply houses, are good material for this work. 
The jute or wool-roving is too harsh for fingers. Finger crocheting is very much 
better than crocheting with a needle for children under seven. The movements 
are necessarily large, and the chain which results is coarse and big enough to be 
sewed into doll mats or caps without undue eye strain. The chain-crochet stitch 
has to be taught, of course. Sewing the strips of rags together is very good 
crude sewing which a six-year-old can do readily. Shaping into a circular mat 
or rug will need some guidance. It is quite possible to have a little design in 
this work by “hit-or-miss” pieces, or by sewing on a contrasting color for the 
outer edges of the rug. There are endless possibilities in this work. A seven- 
vear-old could make a circular or elliptical rug crocheted of rags which would 
be large enough for the play corner. 



Spool-knitting. This has always been a household accomplishment, and 
while there are a variety of “spool-knitters” on the market, the simple old- 
fashioned device is good enough. A big spool, four brads (headless nails) 
driven into the top and a strong bank pin or a hair pin are all that is necessary 
for machinery. The box of odds and ends in zephyrs will supply the material 
needed. Two generations ago our mothers could buy “shaded zephyrs” for this 
work, and it was indeed a joy to watch the dark rose, then the pink, then the 
pale rose, then the white come through the spool as we worked! The process of 
getting started is complicated, and the threading of the spool should be done by 
the adult until a six-year-old has become thoroughly skillful in doing the knit¬ 
ting. Any child of six will love to do this work, and some five-year-old children 
can do it very nicely. Like any of the textile occupations, spool-knitting should 
not be done for any length of time. A child becomes absorbed in it as he does 
in a book, and often must be asked to lay it aside and run outdoors, for other¬ 
wise it will become too sedentary an occupation. 

What can be done with chains? If made of red or green or blue twine. 















Later Childhood 


271 


they make fine reins. Tiny bells can be sewed upon them for a Christmas 
present to four-year-old brother. Doll sets consisting of tam, muff and scarf 
can be made, and they are unusually attractive. Little circular mats and hats are 
very simple. Older children can sew on coarse stitch-designs of flowers, etc., with 
the colored wools. 

All the sewing, both for finger-crocheting and spool-knitting, can be super¬ 
vised as you do your own sewing, with the little son or daughter sitting at 
your side at work. Just a little patience and willingness to stop your work for 
the moment means much worth-while accomplishment for the little child. 

Braiding. This art naturally belongs with this series and should be taught 
in the same way, with big, coarse materials, and used for the same purposes. 
■Learning to braid sister’s hair, and then one’s own, is helped by practice in 
braiding for a rag rug, or a tea-mat. 

DRESSMAKING 

The child’s traditional love of dress-up and self decoration only needs to be 
noted. It begins very early, and in its crudest form serves as a spur to his 
imaginative play. He loves to put on grandfather’s “specs,” and at once begins 
to look wise. A two-year-old loves to wear “daddy’s” hat. All along the line 
dress-up appeals to deep-seated instincts, dramatic and decorative. A silver paper 
star makes a policeman out of five-year-old Ben, while a gilt crown makes a 
queen of Elizabeth. Grown-ups are quite dependent upon dress-up, for haven’t 
we a proverb to the effect that “Clothes make the man” ? 

Children love to make head-dresses and hats. They can become very original 
and achieve some quite artistic results with strips and bands of crepe or tissue 
papers. If you help them to measure a cardboard strip around the forehead above 
the ears, and then fasten it with a brass fastener, they can do the rest. Streamers 
of color pasted all around give a spring festival effect to Jane’s head-dress, 
while the feathers crayoned and cut out of paper and pasted upright on Johnnie’s 
strip make an Indian of him. Incidentally, if he wishes an Indian blanket, 
you can spare him a flour-sack dish towel. He can take red, orange and black 
crayons and cover the cloth with crude color or even make rough designs for a 
border, and when he folds it about him he is a veritable chief. 

Five-year-olds can make caps which fit close to their heads by folding back 
the open edges of a paper bag. It will need to be folded over several times. 
Then the small girls or boys can trim to their hearts’ content with pompoms of 
paper or strips of “ribbon” to tie under their chins. This same device, but turned 
the other way up, makes a little bag which may have a knot or tassel of colored 
paper at the bottom and a stout cord sewed through the top so it can be carried. 




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White paper pie plates and colored tissue papers make quite a sufficient 
equipment for the five- and six-year-old girls’ millinery shop. Children delight 
in the results which are possible with this material. 

First the center is cut from the inside of the pie plate, a little at a time, 
until Miss Bessie’s hat rim just fits over Miss Bessie’s little head. Then she 

selects her favorite color of tissue paper and pushes it up through the center 

until it has quite a tarn o’shanter effect, after which she pastes it in place and cuts 

off the tag ends underneath the hat. Or, an easier way for the five-year-old is 

to round off the corners of a square of tissue paper and paste down the edges 
all around the rim of the cardboard plate. Then streamers of tissue or little 
bunches pasted on to represent flowers add a decorative touch to the whole. 

All sorts of really charming effects and much training in ingenuity and 
taste are possible with these summertime activities in dress-up. A little five-and- 
a-half-year-old girl made a J)lue and white hat as suggested above. While playing 
out in the open lot, she had a bright idea and came flying in to get her hat. When 
she returned with it, it had feathery foxtail grasses stuck around the rim 
against the deep blue of the tissue paper crown! The effect was lovely. 

Boys love the traditional soldier cap, and should know how to make it very 
well from a newspaper. One half sheet of the ordinary-sized newspaper makes 
the average head size for a six-year-old. The sheet is folded in halves the short 
way of the page, then folded again through the middle to make a crease. Then 
it should be unfolded and laid on the table with the open edges towards you. 
Next fold according to diagram a and b. 

Lastly, paste the ends and decorate with tassels, with Dennison flag pasters 
or with stripes of red and blue. 

There is a simpler fold which a four-year-old can accomplish with your 
help, if he has had a little experience in making book folds. Starting with the 
same-sized piece of newspaper folded in the newspaper fashion across the short 
distance, he should fold to make a book, i. e., middle of the oblong (see diagram 
for steps, Fig. i, 2, 3, and 4.) 

At 3 there will be four open corners marked. Fold the first corner b up to 
a and crease heavily. Then turn over and fold back the other three, b to the 
top of a. Then let the child decorate with slashes or fringes of color, as he 
chooses. A four-year-old will often snip pieces of red or blue and paste them 
all over his cap. 

Uniforms or aprons can be made of wrapping paper or newspaper. Chil¬ 
dren who do this have learned to make doll pattern dresses which are made from 
a folded cutting like the diagram. 

Strong brown or grey wrapping paper will make a dress or a big apron, 




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upon which the child can exercise quite a little originality in trimming. After 
she has made a paper one, the next step is to cut a pattern and make a cloth apron. 

This is quite possible for the six- and seven-year-olds, as soft gingham or 
flowered cotton cloth can be used, and the pattern pinned on. After the apron 
is cut out, the edges need only to be folded back and pinned or ironed. Then 
blue, or rose, or yellow rickrack braid is sewed on. This is a painstaking job, 
but perfect stitches are not expected. They are of all sizes, irregular and childish 
looking, but they are strong enough to hold the braid on, and a pretty apron 
made by a proud little girl is the result. 

A Warning about Sewing. The art of sewing is fascinating and valuable 















































Later Childhood 


275 


for little girls from six years on, but it has to be regulated in a number of ways: 

First: Only a little sewing should be attempted at one sitting, for the little 
girl’s outdoor hours should not be* curtailed by her interest in sewing. 

Second: See that the sewing is done under good conditions of lighting and 
posture, to avoid eye strain. 

Third: Very simple, large work should be stressed. The small, stamped 
outlining bits for young children are as pernicious for eye and hand as the old 
perforating and card-sewing of the kindergarten. 

Fourth: Materials should be soft, easily managed, and attractive in color. 
The needle should be coarse, and soft wools should be used for thread. 

Making doll dresses will be suggested in connection with doll making. 

DOLL DRESSING AND MAKING 

Of the buying and breaking of dolls there is no end, but we can do much 
more than we have done to help children in the making of their own dolls. 

Baby begins very early to make a dolly out of a rolled up towel, or a bottle 
wrapped in a blanket, or a kitty who has consented to be “made over” into a doll- 
baby for the time being. The three-year-old learns to take off and put on the rag- 
doll’s clothes, to button the big button on its jacket, and to put on its bonnet. By 
four she should be able to tie Raggedy Ann’s apron strings and button up her 
shoes, which are signs of more skillful fingers. Presently the four-year-old begins 
to “sew” with mother, punching needle and thread back and forth through the 
soft cloth you supply her and making a variety of clothes for dolly, chiefly through 
the alchemy of her imagination. By five, however, she has really learned, through 
making a cape or an apron for dollie, or perhaps sewing together the leaves for 
her book, to make stitches of more or less even length. The making of bags, aprons 
and big-doll clothes continues up to the seventh and eighth year, when little girls 
have their “sewing bee” and sew for little dolls, piece quilts and the like. The 
five-year-old will learn to sew much better if she can be at least on the edge of such 
a sewing circle, for then she will eagerly imitate the older child’s skill. 

Aside from dressing or sewing for their dolls, children love to make dolls, 
though this is evidenced largely in the seven- to nine-year period, when making 
sets of paper dolls are all the fashion. But there are many interesting ways of 
making dolls at home, which even the youngest enjoy. 

Clothespin Dolls. This is good experimental work for a younger child, be¬ 
cause it means dressing, cutting, tying and sewing. Perhaps mother will make a 
face on the clothespin’s head, and glue a little black or orange yarn on for hair, 
and dip its feet into the ink-bottle for booties. After that there are several ways 
to dress the doll: 



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VARIOUS KINDS OF DOLLS 


















































Later Childhood 


277 


First, snipping and tying,—let your littlest one snip a round hole (how he 
loves to do it!) right in the middle of a small square or circular piece of calico. 
Then slip it over the doll’s head, and tie a sash of yarn or ribbon or a strip of 
cloth around its middle. 

Second, snipping and sewing sash on. Cut the same neck hole, and then give 
the child a needle threaded with a knotted piece of yarn. Let her sew around the 
hole a little way down, any kind of big stitches, and pull out her needle. This 
leaves a gathering string which will tie the dress around clothespin dollie. 

Third, gathering neck and waistlines. This needs an oblong piece of cloth, 
and the child learns to make the running stitch at the neck and an inch or two 
below. These gathered up and tied behind make a good dress. Clipping or fring¬ 
ing the bottom of the dress may be done, and a cape or shawl added. 

The five-year-old can make endless variations of this kind of doll, and it is 
of good size to use with many of her smaller toys and furniture. 

Rag-doll. Supply soft cotton cloth for this, preferably old underwear, linen, 
or stockings, white, brown or black. For head and body use a six- or eight-inch 
square of the goods, and double it. Two pins will hold it, while the little girl sews 
a good seam around two sides of the oblong, leaving an end open for stuffing with 
cotton. After the body is stuffed, gather or tie in the neck, making the head and 
trunk. Sew up smaller oblongs for the fat, short legs and the arms, stuffing with 
cotton and then fastening to the body. The face and hair may be painted on. 
Children love to “practice” on a piece of paper until they have made a good face, 
rather than to let the grown-up do it, but, of course, it is a very crude result when 
they do the painting. This doll gives opportunity for much simple planning and 
dressing. Kimono-patterned dresses and aprons can be easily made, with delight¬ 
ful little pockets and belts; some little girls are able to make rompers for a doll of 
this size. The preceding picture shows some of the comical but thoroughly childlike 
results of rag-doll making in kindergarten. 

An old black or grey silk stocking will make a wonderful kittie, and six-year- 
old children can make one easily for baby brother or sister. The top of the stock¬ 
ing is sewed across, and the foot is cut off. The two upper corners are tied and 
sewed for ears. Then cotton is stuffed into the stocking until a suitable length is 
filled. The neck is then tied in and sewed tight, and the body is tied at the bottom. 
Then all the remaining stocking is wrapped tight in sections, with the black or 
grey thread to make the long tail. Two buttons are sewed on for eyes. If the 
kittie needs whiskers, you will probably have to make them (see diagram). It 
makes a soft and “hugable” toy for the littlest one. 

Paper-doll making and dressing, as a whole, belong to the later age of child¬ 
hood, but will be suggested under the heading “Cutting.” 



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Paste Smoothly to Cover Paste on a Picture,Strips of Paper or Stick Printing 
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MAKING BOOKS 

There is almost no child of any age who does not, at some time or other, love 
to make books. Book-making in very simple forms for home work is an occupa¬ 
tion of sustained interest and practical value. It gives hours of pleasure for the 
shut-in days. Also, books have an added “collecting” interest for the older chil¬ 
dren, and for the littlest ones the love of pasting and arranging. 

Materials for scrap and picture books may be paper cambric or heavy wrap¬ 
ping paper. Both materials may be stitched together at the back on the machine, 
or sewed by the child himself with heavy yarn. A very good, grey, light-weight 
paper scrapbook is on the market also for the older child’s classified pictures. 









































































Later Childhood 


279 


Pictures are easily obtained from fashion plates and books, the little cards 
and advertisements which come with breakfast foods, the better pictures cut from 
magazines, and from children’s worn-out books and primers. Save all suitable 
post cards, also. Much of this work can be done by the children, and of course 
that gives it greater value. 

For the Youngest Children. Again we see manipulation interests dominant, 
slapping and pasting down hard the pictures given them to paste. For this first 
work have a page of heavy wrapping paper cut io" x 14", and let the four-year- 
old just paste all over it. There will be little arrangement, and when you see any 
pasting in rows, or four corners and center, rejoice that the rhythmic or design¬ 
ing sense has been awakened. Save any fairly good pages, and when he has made 
two or three, fasten together with overhand sewing. This gives him a “book” 
and a satisfied feeling that he has achieved something. Even the littlest ones 
need some emphasis on the results they are getting, so that they may gradually 
realize that the end to be accomplished is worthy. 

Also, a four-year-old loves to make the “book fold,” folding double a square 
or oblong piece of paper. Several of these pinned together make a little book 
which he can fill up with pasted pictures or scribble on, as he chooses. 

The five-year-old will make many such little books and can learn to pin 
together, to sew through backs and tie, or to sew over and over. Making one’s 
very own book puts an added value on it; so it is best done with wrapping papers, 
and there is no wastefulness involved. 

A child of this age can begin to make special books with the picture name 
on the cover, or “daddy” can print the title on. A “Family” picture book is very 
fascinating, for the whole real family can become involved in saving pictures of 
babies and ladies and boys and fathers to put in it. It means, also, a little problem 
in selecting and choosing, for the child himself will search for the pictures he 
needs in the magazines and catalogs which are his to cut up. A five-year-old 
boy can make a “soldier” scrap book of long papers 6" x 12" or thereabouts. 
He can paste his soldier pictures, perhaps cut from a worn-out picture book, in 
a row and gather together other pictures which tell about soldiers, flags, tents, 
drums and the like. A “Bird” book is much fun to make, and a “Book of Autos,” 
also. Just a scrapbook with no attempt at classification, but with emphasis on 
neatness, ability to paste carefully, and good arrangement is very satisfactory 
work all through this period. 

Worn-out story-picture books can be used to advantage by the six-year-old 
children. By cutting up the pictures and remounting in a suitable-sized booklet 
of cloth or heavy paper, they will be as great a source of pleasure as before. 
“Peter Rabbit” and “Black Sambo” are always getting worn out, and as the 




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reading matter is known by heart, just the pictures pasted in sequence make a new 
book. Old primers and readers can be used. The children who have begun to 
print and write can label with a little help each page of the story. It may be 
well to cut out in oblongs some of the reading matter of old books and mount 
under the pictures. 

A very delightful “Garden Book” can be made with mother’s help and 
direction. Get a square of cretonne or gay-flowered cotton cloth, lay it flat on 
the table, and then paste on two oblong pieces of wrapping paper or cardboard, 
so as to leave a margin of cloth all around and a half-inch strip through the middle 




















































































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or back. These will make limp covers for the “Garden Book.” Buy Jessie 
Wilcox Smith’s “Mistress Mary, Quite Contrary” colored picture for the first 
page. Have your seven-year-old cut big letters, either free-hand as is done in 
school or picked out of newspaper headlines, which say “Garden Book,” and paste 
them neatly on with his or little sister’s initials. The inner leaves may be of good 
quality construction paper, in warm grey or green, whichever harmonizes with the 
cover cloth. They can be sewed to the strip of cloth at the back. 

The range of picture interests possible under this heading offers a good 
training in selection and discrimination. With a little guiding and help in deciding 
which are the best pictures, the child can make a really beautiful book. The boy’s 
book may be “The Farm,” with its varied interests, while the girl of this age 
will put in flowers, potted plants, spring, summer and autumn garden pictures and 
child activities of work in the garden, with tools and the like. Animal and 
circus books offer many incentives to collecting, classifying and arranging which 
should be emphasized at this period. 

For a bit of particular work for the six- and seven-year-old girl, the “Book 
House,” explained in these pages offers many fascinating problems. If you are 
willing to help a little with suggestions and in keeping up the standard of mount¬ 
ing and arranging, both the work itself and the results will be gratifying. 

First decide upon the size of the construction papers which are to be used. 
For each “room” a 9" x 12" size is good. The first page should be a picture of 
a house, the prettiest one your little girl can find. Several of our household 
magazines carry advertisements which are beautiful in coloring and design. 

The next sheets may be for “the family who live in the house.” This may 
be a group picture of the family or separate cut-outs of the whole family from 
fashion plates. 

Following this, the number of pages for the various rooms will be determined 
by the little girl’s degree of interest in a fairly long-sustained “project.” There 
may be as many at ten rooms, or as few as four. First list (each room occupying 
a page of the book) is as follows: the hall; sun parlor; living room; dining 
room; kitchen; bedroom; nursery; playroom; bathroom; furnace room or cellar. 
A shorter list may be: living room; dining room; kitchen and bedroom or 
nursery. Catalogs, backs of magazines, and store advertisements are the source 
of supply for the pictures. 

When finished, two holes can be punched at the left margin of each picture 
and all the pages tied together loosely. This loose-leaf arrangement enables the 
child to stand the book up so that it may open like a screen, and paper dolls may 
play in the kitchen or on the sun porch. 

There are many values in this particular book, aside from the manual skill 




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attained. To carry out a unit of work in an organized fashion is a thought-pro¬ 
voking situation. Arranging the kinds of furniture which go together is a train¬ 
ing in association and sense of suitability which the child of six is beginning to 
need. Witness the cheerful way in which a five-year-old will put the kitchen 
stove in the parlor, and mix up all the rest of the furniture in a playhouse! 

At six he should begin to cultivate a sense of orderliness—the right things 
in the right place. This is also a matter of esthetic feeling, and this little “Book 
House” may be very artistic in color-scheme, careful cutting and arrangement 
and daintiness of workmanship. It does not need to be done all at once. That 
is the danger which we adults fall into—of forcing children beyond a native* 
interest and power too fast and too far. A good flat box to keep the materials 
in, with some of father’s big envelopes in which to save cut-out pictures, makes 
provision for keeping such a project for pick-up work, exactly as we grownups 
keep a bit of sewing or embroidery in a bag ready to work upon an hour here 
and there until it is finished. 

MAKING TOYS 

Naturally enough, children’s constructive interests center around their play 
needs and purposes. This becomes increasingly evident as their ability to plan 

























































































Later Childhood 


283 



and execute their various projects increases. Boys of eight, nine and ten spend 
hours in getting their circus performances ready, in making costumes, arranging 
stage-settings and so on. Little girls are busy at work in the playhouse making bed¬ 
ding, curtains and doll clothes. Yet this constructive activity reaches a further pur¬ 
pose, for it is pre-practice play, play-work which is helping to make them more 
efficient, getting them ready to do the same things on a larger scale in their later life. 

Toys which they make themselves have an added worth to them, for they 
train in ingenuity and in ability to wrest what they need out of the materials 
about them. The “poor little rich girl,” smothered in toys, can never know the 
joy of creativity which the child of the poor knows, who has made for himself 
a pair of skiis out of two barrel-staves and the kid tops of an old pair of shoes! 
An invention of that sort enabled five-year-old Wallace to slide down his own 
snow hill with the best of them. 

How to Make a Top. Material: A large button mold, or milk bottle top, 
or three-inch cardboard disc. Color gaily with several of the Crayonex colors. 
Use a thick match or a meat skewer, or the stick from an ‘“all-day sucker.” Point 
the end of the stick and drive it through the middle of the disc. This makes 
a very serviceable top. 

How to Make a Game. Ring-toss. Materials: a cylindrical breakfast- 


















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food box, raffia or strips of cloth to wind the rings, cardboard coffee container, 
and a stick of wood about the size of a flag stick. Cover the coffee can with colored 
paper or enamel it; paint the stick green, and drive it into a hole in the center of 
the can. Saw the break fast-food box into %-inch sections. Wrap each one with 
a different colored strip of raffia or rag. Make four or six rings to toss. 

How to Make a Drum. Here is another use for the cardboard coffee can, 
with clothespins, colored paper, and cord for other material. Paste grey or tan 
paper around the drum, and red or orange strips criss-cross. Almost any design 
will be effective for the drum part. Take a good length of thick cord or cotton 
roving and tie it to a metal skewer, in place of a needle, and punch through 
the can about an inch from the edge, pulling the thread through on the stick. 
Then tie the ends the right length for the drummer’s neck. Two clothespins or 
dowel-sticks complete a very good drum. The tin coffee can may be used, and 
holes may be punched with a nail through which to thread the cord, but it is a 
noisier toy, and the “boom” of the cardboard one is very realistic. 

How to Make a Table Croquet Set. Material: Four small spools, two tall, 
slender spools, four marbles of different colors, eighteen corks (the larger the 
better) nine long wire hairpins and four long thin nails. Bend a hairpin into 
shape for an arch, and drive each end into a cork. Make nine of these. Make 




























Later Childhood 


285 



mallets by driving nails into the middle of the cylinders of the spools. Color 
the ends of the mallet to match the marbles which are the croquet balls. Set 
up the two slender spools for the posts. These may have bands of the four 
colors, put on with crayons. This is a good problem for the six- to seven-year- 
old boy. 

How to Make a Roly-Poly for Baby Sister. Material: An oatmeal box, 
wall paper or any bright colored paper, bells to put inside, a yard of cotton¬ 
roving or stout cord. Punch holes in the cover-ends and fasten the string in 
for pulling. Put bells inside, and place the cover on. Then cover or decorate 
with bright colored paper. This little toy can be pulled or rolled across the floor. 

How to Make a Doll Cradle. Material: A large sized breakfast food box 
and enamel or house paint. Put cover on tightly with a little paste, if necessary. 
Then mark with a black crayon a line one inch from each end, but only a third 
of the way around the end. This is to be cut out so as to make the circular ends 
for the head and foot of the cradle. Cut lengthwise for the sides of the cradle. 
This is a little problem in careful drawing and cutting, but the little rocking 
cradle which results is a very real toy. Little cut-outs or pictures of rabbits, 
chickens or flowers may be pasted at the head and foot, or on the sides after 
it has been painted cream, rose or grey. Bedding, coverlets and pillows may 
be an additional problem in sewing for the six-year-old, 

























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Paint Or Enamel Box inside and out 
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How to Make a Doll Bed. Material: A cigar box, four spools, enamel or 
house paint, and some glue. (This is harder to use, but children who have used 
paste skillfully can manage it.) First, the cover is taken off and nailed or glued 
to one end for the headboard. Then the spools are glued to the four corners. 
Finally, the bed may be painted and decorated, as suggested for the cradle. 

How to Make a Sewing Box. Six-year-old sister can make a very dainty 
sewing box of a cigar box which has been soaked in warm soapy water to remove 
the odor. Then paint the box and cover, inside and out, using the child's 
favorite color. After it is dry, flowers or figures may be cut from cretonne and 
pasted on top of the cover and around the sides of the box. This makes a very 
serviceable box for all her own pairs of scissors, balls of yarn, and bits of ribbon 
and cloth. 

Furniture and wagons of all kinds and sizes may be made from match boxes, 
writing paper boxes, candy and shoe boxes. Learning to cut and punch holes, 
use brass fasteners, tie with cord and bend wire into shape and skillfully handle 
varieties of material, makes the child very ingenious and able to adapt what he 
has to his play uses. Learning to see possibilities in the ordinarily discarded 
materials about him is a valuable result of constructive work, and is thought 






















Later Childhood 


287 



provoking. A child who has this quality of resourcefulness is an asset in the 
social world. 

How to Make Puzzle Pictures. Materials: Backs of tablets or strawboard 
and pictures. Paste a picture on cardboard with the stencil brush so that the 
paste is evenly distributed. Then put the cardboard under pressure to dry. When 
five- to six-year-old children make these, they just cut them up any way, into five 
or six pieces. The six- and seven-year-olds may take a ruler and draw sections 
of various shapes and sizes over the backs of the puzzle card, and then cut up 
the pieces. A big envelope should be made or borrowed from “daddy’s” desk 
to keep the pieces in. A picture or printing on the envelope tells what the puzzle 
is. This is a good use to make of pages from torn picture books—for instance, 
a big animal page, an engine, or even a “scenery picture,” if the drawing is big 
and simple, and includes an animal or a child to give it interest. 

The number of toys which children from five to seven can make with the 
least possible help and the greatest possible enjoyment is almost infinite. If 
the child gets the idea and mother has also a resourceful and ingenious “suggest¬ 
ion,” there is little that he can not make in some simple form or other to com¬ 
plement his play and enlarge his capacity for enjoying life. 

Nature Materials. On this day of long motor trips, there are many oppor¬ 
tunities for children to gather the beautiful out-door things—the leaves, berries, 
nuts, acorns, seeds and pods which they so love to collect. Try to have in the 
car a few newspapers and a basket or flat box for the children’s treasures. When 
they pick simple leaves, as they often do, they can be slipped into the folds of the 
newspaper and are then ready to use when the children get home. The basket 
will take care of all sorts of materials for stringing. The added interest of use 
later on gives another incentive to the wholesome exercises involved in “collect¬ 
ing” and running about, while the picnic dinner is being prepared. 

Too much stress cannot be put upon the need for outdoor activity. Doll 
dressing and tea parties under the trees; the immemorial circus performance in 












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the back yard; making wreaths, aprons and caps of fall leaves—all of these and 
many more “handwork” occupations may occur under blue skies, and out where 
winds blow. A safe rule to follow in these days of over-heated houses and 
closed cars is, “Never have any play or work indoors which can be done out- 
of-doors.” 

OBJECTIVES AND RESULTS. 

The end and aim of all education is character. That is an accepted standard 
to-day, however lax we are in living up to it in educational practice. Character 
expresses itself in attitudes and in conduct. The grown-up must be of value to 
himself and of service to society. A large part of the young child’s life is con¬ 
cerned with the organization of behavior, with learning to do, learning to be, learn¬ 
ing to adjust himself to the demands of the society into which he is born. 

Industry and the habit; of industry is a foundation stone. 

Self-employment, or ability to ft amuse one’s self.” This is a great asset in 
human character, for later on it means resourcefulness, or good use of leisure 
time. The child who can and does find employment for himself is never idle- 
minded, that greatest of dangers to the mental and moral health of youth. Your 
child is less care, less responsibility to you, more to be depended upon, when you 
can count on his being continually occupied. Self-employment, self-control and 
self-direction are closely allied. 

Perseverance and persistence are developed through handwork, perhaps 
because the end to be struggled for is concrete, easy to see, easy to hold in mind. 
Possibly, also, they have been set up as standards both at home and at school, so 
that “always finish what you have begun” becomes a slogan. When we remember 
that the lengthening of the span of interest and effort is a sign of growing in¬ 
telligence, we will not fail to work for this objective. 

Executive ability is a tremendous asset in society, and is emphasized in the 
constant adaptation, shaping and making which handwork calls forth. Ability 
to see what to do, how to shape materials, and the means by which these things 
are done are constant factors even in the tiniest efforts, and we somehow expect 
people who have learned to work with their hands to have greater ability in 
adapting and shaping the business or the demands of life. Witness the son who 
must “work his way up” by means of manual labor, the actual doing, in order 
to be adequately trained to his father’s executive job. 

Purposefulness versus aimlessness. This contrast points out the keynote to 
worthy conduct. Handwork, the making of the things which meet childish needs, 
even if only “tickets” to his circus performance in the barn, is a constant training 
in purpose. Problems arise in the child’s mind which grow out of his plans, and 



Later Childhood 


289 


it is a wise parent who refuses to solve them for his child, but who works with 
him, or sets him on the track to discover for himself the answers. Increased wil¬ 
lingness to stay longer on the job, to work harder to attain ends, are always in 
evidence where there is a real purpose, a real interest. Perhaps the chief effect 
of such handwork, or attitudes about handwork, which we have been discussing, 
is the gain made in whole-hearted, purposeful activity. 

A great contentment and sense of poise is one of the emotional reactions of 
free, happy, purposeful work. “Give, oh, give me the man who sings at his 
work,” says Carlyle. Children trained to work with their hands and to love 
to do it are the happiest of all children. And the modern biological-psychologist 
says that joy in work is an essential to natural, healthy growth, because where 
there is joy there is no worry, and therefore no strains or blights to check full, 
vigorous development. 

Aesthetic training. Training of this kind is so great a factor in life and yet 
so indirect that it is hardly possible to suggest all the points. The growing con¬ 
sciousness of being able to achieve the useful and the beautiful (in intent if not 
in actuality) is as soul-satisfying to the little child in degree as it is to the artist or 
poet. Sense of color, form and proportion exercise a continual influence upon 

taste. Note the illustrations of this under the discussion of design. Skill to do 

well and ever better awakens both standards and appreciation. The little girl, 
who from making quaint little doll dresses with wooly stitches of trimming on 
them has learned to make an apron or play-slip for herself and to put “designs” 
upon them, is going to love to make her own dresses and to appreciate both the 
art and the usefulness of dressmaking. 

Value of companionship. The need for companions in work increases with 
the age of the child. Where the four-year-old is quite content to play by 
himself or near another child, the six- and seven-year-old seldom wishes to work 
alone. Little girls begin to make paper dolls together, or have a little sewing 
circle; boys build their huts and erect their dams in trios and quartets. The 

give-and-take of shared social life is very significant, so the “come over and play” 

call has a growing value. Imitation raises the standard of work done, and the 
suggestions and help, even the quarrels and criticisms of a group, play their 
part in training these little children of to-day to learn their parts for the citizen¬ 
ship of to-morrow. 

To go back to where we began: The young child is learning all the while. 
His learning is active, and so handwork makes a large measure of provision for 
the use of leisure time for work indoors and out, for happy, wholesome occupation 
of mind and heart and body. 




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JVhen Shall JVe Teach the “Three R*s” 

Minnetta S. Leonard. 

I F by the “three R’s” is meant formal studies in “readin’, ’ritin’, and ’rith- 
metic,” as given in the school, the best authorities answer, for reading, rarely 
before six years of age; for writing, on paper, not before seven; and for num¬ 
ber work not until seven or later. But if one means the time for beginning to give 
the preparation for understanding these, the pouring in of the experiences needed 
as a background for them, and the stimulating of a great desire to read, write and 
do number work, these same educators answer that the proper time is whenever 
by his questions the child shows he is working on some special problem in 
these—when the child himself starts the “lesson.” 

Let us explain the difference. In the study of the development of arithmetic, 
language and writing in the race, we find that men, in their various activities, 
stumbled upon certain facts which were useful to them. For a long time these 
facts were used in a haphazard way. Gradually, however, for the sake of con¬ 
venience in recalling them quickly and accurately and of passing them on to 
others, men organized these into a definite system for study. Just so the little 
child uses certain numbers; for example, in his play, he measures lengths of 
paper and boards; divides apples or a number of marbles among several play¬ 
mates, or selects enough plates to set a table for a certain number of dollies. 

At first he does it all in a haphazard way; he chooses too many plates and has 
to put some away, or gets too few and has to go for more. He may have the 
same problem over and over again, making the same mistakes at first, and gradu¬ 
ally eliminating them until he succeeds in doing the thing right the first time. His 
problems are of all sorts—combinations of two at one time, or six or eight the next. 
This requires many, many repetitions of each of these experiences over a long 













Later Childhood 


291 


period of time before the child learns to respond quickly and accurately to these 
as they arise. 

After repeated experiment and waste of energy there comes a time when he 
will recognize of his own accord that he may help himself to avoid trouble by 
drill and by writing the combinations down for future reference. He then be* 
comes willing and eager to help himself in this way. Arithmetic at that point 
becomes a reasonable study, a service to him which he recognizes, and so, most 
likely* a pleasure. 

In just this way all other studies become of recognized value, if allowed to 
grow from the child’s own experiences and needs. It is because the parents and 
the schools arbitrarily say, “John is six years old now, therefore 'he must begin 
to learn reading, writing, and numbers,” and then put him through these studies 
with no regard either to his mental age (that is, the stage of mind development 
which determines his grasp of these subjects) or to the experiences life has given 
him, necessary to make these studies sensible to him. 

Legitimate lessons in the “three R’s,” then, are not easily seen as such. They 
are the filling in of the background of experience for these formal studies later. 

WHAT HAPPENS IF WE- TEACH THEM TOO SOON? 

Schools are coming to recognize that the mental age and the chronological age 
(age counted by calendar years) are not the same. It is realized that some chil¬ 
dren are six mentally at or near the fifth birthday, and others not until their 
seventh or later. Tests are being given in many schools to determine the mental 
ages, and children’s entrance and promotion in school are determined by the 
mental age. It is to be 'hoped that this will be true before long in every school. 
All the desire of the ambitious parent, all the urging, scolding or rewards of 
teachers cannot bring true growth and grasp in these subjects if the child’s mind 
is not ready to absorb these studies for itself. They may succeed in getting the 
child through his grade into the next with only partial understanding of 'his work, 
handicapped to begin the work of the next grade, and likely from now on to be 
only a mediocre student. Or, as quite often happens, they may cause the child to 
fail to pass. Because he has been asked to struggle over a subject senseless to 
him and has failed, 'he has built up around that subject an eternal distaste and 
disgust for it, making the study harder next time. It has meant social humilia¬ 
tion. It often goes further; it gives the child a conception of himself as a failure, 
and this is a real disaster to any child. 

But what should be done if the child of five has a mental age of six? You 
would begin to teach these subjects earlier, would you not? Personally I would 
not. I would meet (as shall be shown later) all questions which show interest in 



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any subject or would give the child a chance to answer them for himself, in order 
to insure at this time whatever good might come out of this interest; but I should 
see to it that as soon as his immediate problem was solved his attention should be 
directed to other interests more in keeping with his age. I have satisfied myself 
by experiments that some children may easily be taught to read at three years. 
But the question should never be, however, at what age can we teach the child, 
but at what age should we teach him. 

Here are reasons for my answer. Whatever time a child gives to one activity 
means that much taken from some other. The years under six are most valuable 
years for the getting of all sorts of vital experiences which will enrich the whole 
later life. The school days come for most children so much too soon for the 
getting of these background experiences that it seems too bad to rob the child 
of any of his time by formal studies under six, or sometimes seven. 

The child under six should be saturating himself with first-hand knowledge 
of nature, as Miss Shaw shows in her article. Getting vital experiences from 
puppy dogs and kittens, wind, water, birds and plants is infinitely more valuable 
to him than all he can read in books about these for years to come. Too often 
the ability to read such fascinating works as the Burgess bird books takes away, 
as it did in the case of a little girl I know, from time spent in watching Peter 
Rabbit and listening to Jenny Wren, to the book itself, where she gets only second¬ 
hand knowledge. 

This is the period valuable for the building up of a fine, sturdy, healthy body. 
Time spent on books means that just so much of the child’s time must be curtailed 
for play in the homes, in the gymnasium, or in out-of-door activities. 

Time spent in books also means so much taken away from handwork, which 
should be at this period, as Miss Barbour shows in her article, the medium of 
child expression. In the crowding of other interests later, the child may miss 
the pleasure that should be his in handwork because he failed at this time to find 
himself through getting control of these materials as an expression of his creative 
power. Moreover, if this power to create with things is not acquired before he 
becomes tied to his books, he may unconsciously come to form wrong ideals of 
himself as a character, for which he will suffer later. He may sit and picture him¬ 
self as a really fine fellow, doing all of the heroic deeds of his book heroes, but 
he gets a fairly true idea of himself when he tries to match his skill among his 
fellows in their games and in their plays, or when he tries to make toys. It is a 
far more difficult thing, and a source of greater joy in achievement, to make a 
boat which everybody can see will really sail or a wagon that truly works, than 
to sit and dream of wonderful aeroplanes and gunboats. For little children under 
eight or nine these tangible results, which are judged by their use and are seen 




Later Childhood 


293 


or criticized by others as well as himself, have far more value in the building of 
the child’s character than the ability to read and cipher early. 

Again, the child who withdraws too early from his playfellows to his books is 
going to develop an unsocial character. The trend may not show until his ’teens, 
the period when he becomes most concerned about his relations with other people. 
Then, when it is too late to rectify his mistakes, he may have to suffer keenly 
from the criticism of others, and from all the various other forms of social 
misadjustment which comes in the high-school age. 

Also, the child whose fortunate inheritance has been a high grade of intelli¬ 
gence should not be robbed of the richer, fuller life this inheritance may mean. 
Instead of being railroaded through the early years at school and finding himself 
a child of ten among children entering the adolescent age, with all its interests 
quite unlike his own, he should see to it that the child who gets his lessons quickly 
has that much time left for music, scientific experiments if he desires, sewing, 
art work and the like, so that when he is grown his life will be full and happy 
because of the wideness of his interests. The pride of parents in such a mind 
should not be that the child enters college early, but rather pride in the richness 
and variety of the developing life within their charge. 

WHAT EXPERIENCES SHOULD PRECEDE THE FORMAL STUDY 
OF SCHOOL SUBJECTS? 

Other articles in this volume have emphasized many of the most valuable 
experiences with objects of all sorts; toys, play apparatus, tools, nature expe¬ 
riences, pets, soils, plants, water, wind, stories, music to listen to and dance to, 
excursions to parties, stores, railroad stations, the country, and with people, 
children and adults. 

Each subject will be taken up briefly to show the bearings of such experiences 
upon the interests which the child takes in the subject and the facility with which 
he learns to master it. 

For a more detailed discussion of the manner of teaching reading, numbers, 
sewing, handwork, music and drawing, the reader will turn to articles on these 
subjects in this volume. 

LANGUAGE 

Let us first discuss backgrounds of language, because these experiences reach 
farthest back into the baby’s life. 

Baby Talk. As has been shown elsewhere under “baby talk,” helping the 
baby to an early mastery of speech is most important. Dr. Wood and Miss 
Edwards have shown the serious injury which may be done to the child’s mind 




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through neglect here. It is not difficult to show the handicaps in later school work 
which come from failure to hear and pronounce words correctly. Spelling pre¬ 
supposes a knowledge of the word to be spelled. Very often the child’s spelling 
errors are due to his pronunciation of the word. He puts in the letters for the 
sounds he hears. His recognition of written words largely depends upon his 
idea of the spoken word, so the child who talks “baby talk” when he enters 
school not only has to master the tasks which other children have to master for his 

grade, but in addition has to learn all over how to talk. And as we have tried to 

show earlier, to unlearn a habit is far harder work than to form it in the first place. 
Is it fair to require this unnecessary work ? 

If parents are careful not to talk “baby talk” to the children; not to repeat 
before the child the cunning baby words the parents love, and thus fix them in his 
mind; if they are careful to use correct forms clearly and naturally enunciated, 

the child will soon learn to speak correctly. If, after a time, the parent finds 

that certain sounds are hard for the child to master, she'may help the baby to get 
these particular sounds. It will never be a help, however, to work on exaggerated 
pronunciations and distinctions which in our usual talk we do not use, as of-ten 
instead of of-fen, because going to the other extreme only raises more difficulty. 

Use of Complete Sentences. Very early the child should learn to talk in 
sentences. Parents are too ready to understand what the baby means and grant 
his requests. This eliminates all necessity for careful sentences on the child’s 
part, and leads to careless habits. It is a kindness in the mother to be a little 
obtuse and require the whole story before she understands. If greater care had 
been taken in this at the right time, many students who, even in high school, fail 
to recognize sentences, might have been spared much trouble. 

On Giving Commands. Whenever necessary to give a command, the mother 
should first see that she has the baby’s attention. Then she should say only the 
active words, with gesture, to help make it clear, and no more. Many words add con¬ 
fusion. Say “Come here,” “Don’t touch,” “Shut the door,” etc. If the child does 
not understand, she must keep at it until he gets the idea and obeys. This is as 
important for his mental development as for his moral growth. His mind must 
grasp and understand what is said; so the language used in speaking to him 
should be simple and not too much at a time. As he learns to understand, it is 
well to continue saying a few things to him as before, but not talking down to 
him. Treat him as a companion, and talk to him as you would to an older friend. 
It will be surprising to find how the child will stretch up to you and understand. 

The Building of a Vocabulary. The child from a cultured home has prac¬ 
tically no trouble with “language” at the beginning of school. A child who hears 
correct speech at home will always, with little effort, use correct speech. Whether 



Later Childhood 


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his vocabulary is large or small depends upon the vocabulary of his parents. The 
child who hears everything attractive described as dear, cute, darling, or “dandy,” 
and unpleasant things spoken of as horrid, a fright, etc., has no idea of the 
niceties of expression when he wishes to describe an article or a good time. The 
lazy, careless use of such terms by parents accumulates trouble for the child in 
school when he has need to describe things or actions. The use of trite expres¬ 
sions for all occasions, as “tickled to death,” “nearly died,” “cold as ice,” and the 
like, instead of a varied, interesting way of expressing feelings on any occasion, 
cramps the child’s art in the expression of ideas. Words are not big or abstract 
to a child when he understands the meanings; and he uses these just as easily 
and unconsciously as the commonplace ones. Parents should pride themselves in 
making a nice selection of words in talking with and before their children, often 
using unusual words with meaning made clear by their use. Children are often 
caught by a unique expression and will ask the meanings of such words and 
remember them. Always let the child tell what he thinks the word means; then 
if he cannot understand it, and you must tell him, use, if you can, many synonyms 
—to make the meaning as broad as possible. Shortly after, the child himself will 
be trying to use the word. Perhaps there is rio way a parent may enjoy the 
child’s development more than in watching his growing ability to say things 
uniquely and well. 

When they narrate events, and the child loves to hear his parents describe 
little incidents of daily happenings, parents should be careful to tell them simply, 
clearly and graphically, using always, of course, a pleasing, quiet voice. 

The vocabulary should also be built up by the use and experience of many 
objects, excursions, people. The child who has little general experience will have 
a meagre language in which to describe these experiences. 

Many stories read from books and told to him is another important way of 
increasing the child’s vocabulary. More will be said of the importance of book 
experience later, under the subject of reading. 

How to Help in the Expression of Ideas. Besides learning the names of all 
objects about him, and their parts, the names of parts of his body, of many 
descriptive words, of action words, and others, he should, by the age of three, 
know how to follow and give simple instructions, how to describe his own activ¬ 
ities as he performs them (this children do naturally and easily to playmates), 
how to relate clearly what he has done, seen, or heard while away on some small 
trip; to carry simple messages; and should be retelling some of the stories that he 
loves. All this ability should begin to develop at three, and the power to do 
better steadily increases. 

Table and Family Conversation Help. The family gatherings, where every 




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member of the group should have his turn to talk while others listen, is one of the 
best situations for developing pleasant family talk. Beautiful courtesy and con¬ 
sideration are resulting values from these talks. The littlest ones need encour¬ 
agement and help in telling their stories well, and they often try the family 
patience by the length and rambling character of their stories, but if a real 
interest is shown and care is taken not to interrupt until the story is finished, they 
can learn very soon to take a creditable part in these gatherings. 

, Something to Tell Is Most Important. We are all familiar with the torrent 
of words the child turns loose after any exciting experience. Often he begins 
half a block away to relate his woes or pleasures. His language is not always 
coherent at such times; often there is frequent backing up and filling in of the 
gaps before the story is all out. However incoherent these outpourings may be, 
experiences which so fully arouse the child’s desire to expression are a necessary 
part of language development. It is far easier to guide and direct the current 
once it is started than to grind out expression through composition, as too many 
classrooms attempt to do, when the child has nothing which he seeks to express 
in that way. The early years should, fill the child full of rich, vivid and valuable 
experiences which are quivering for expression in language. 

Grown people should be cautioned as to interruption in the course of chib 
dren’s narratives. Too often their talk is considered only “babble,” to be over¬ 
ridden when convenient. Not only is this a wretched example of lack of courtesy, 
but it is an effective way to discourage a good narrative. The above does not 
mean, of course, that a child’s narrative must always be given precedence. He, 
as well as others, must learn when to talk and when to be still, and to use judg¬ 
ment in selecting the times when he should talk. 

The Use of Dictation. Parents will find real joy in writing down at chil¬ 
dren’s dictation their various make-believe stories, descriptions of adventures, and 
letters. The writer has many of these collections, made from the dictation of 
her little girl onward from the age .of four. The ideas run so fast it is hard to 
keep pace in writing, but the exercise is decidedly valuable to the child. While 
the child is waiting for the parent to write down what is said, he may be helped 
to think through the next part. This will lead to better and clearer expressions. 
Making a story book, writing something for “daddy,” who isn’t home, a letter 
to send to grandmother, and many other excuses may be used to make this exer¬ 
cise worth while to the child. 

Use of the Typewriter. As early as three the baby may find fun in using 
the typewriter. There must be a few “don’ts” about touching certain parts of 
the machine, but barring these, which may be made clear to the trustworthy child, 
the little one gets much pleasure and later good from using the machine. The 



Later Childhood 


297 


child’s ideas run so much faster than his ability to write by longhand, even up to 
nine or ten, that he should be given this easy means of expressing them. There 
is no better way to teach spelling than by letting the child try to use the type¬ 
writer. He will refer to books, ask questions, and use all sorts of means to find 
out how to spell when he needs to use spelling. A little girl of my acquaintance, 
with almost no help, is writing letters, stories and childish poems on the typewriter 
before she has entered school. There is no injury to eyes and arm muscles in 
this kind of writing, as frequently there is in the use of pencil or pen. 

Reading. The subject of language has been referred to at some length be¬ 
cause the home development in language and the same richness of experience 
needed in that department is of service in reading. The child gets out of a story 
very little more than he carries to it. If his life has been full of much experience 
of value he will understand much more than will the child who has had little. 
The child’s shelves should contain not only many books, but books of the best 
kind. Not just harmless inane books like “The Bobsey Twins,” “Little Colonel,” 
and many others, but books full of stories beautifully told which will enrich his 
vocabulary and his ideas of right ways of saying things. It isn’t enough to get 
these from the library. He needs them always at hand, to know “by heart.” 
These should be read, and read, and read, until he is thoroughly saturated with 
them. 

Background of Good Reading. The child whose parents have read stories to 
him as they would tell them—with animation, live conversation and vividness— 
cannot easily fall into the dead sing-song of classroom reading. The books will 
have become things of life, telling live stories, and he will use them as such when 
he can read. However poor a reader of adult books a mother or father may be, 
it is yet possible to read the children’s stories and poems beautifully. Elocutionary 
reading is not desirable; it is unnatural and stilted. The simple and straightforward 
way, as nearly as possible like the usual way of talking, is best. 

Poetry. Before the child can read poetry with any sort of expression, he 
should have heard poetry read to him until he is so full of it that the expression 
pours out naturally—until poetry is to him as natural a way to express thought 
as prose. Children love rhythm, repetition, rhyme, and where they have heard 
poetry read to express simple thoughts rhythmically, with soft, delightful, quiet 
voice, they love poetry as much as prose, and later choose their books of poetry for 
reading as readily as their prose. 

Parents often find it hard to read poetry, because the old system of schooling 
was a perfect method for gradually killing the natural love for rhymed sentences. 
They are often afraid of it and read with an embarrassed and apologetic air. But 
this is not necessary, when reading to children. The child brings only his love 



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of the story and his joy to the reading, and with no adults about, the parent may 
throw himself fully into the service of the child and read well enough to benefit 
him. Quite often through such hours the reader rediscovers his own joy in this, 
and gains as much from the reading as does the child. It is the business of the 
home to furnish the right backgrounds, which the school is too often powerless 
to supply. 

Music. The same arguments apply to music. With the phonograph so easily 
at hand, with wealth of beautiful music, it is within the power of most parents 
to provide lovely melody and harmonies and rhythms, to saturate the home life 
with music. In so many homes where the older boys and girls or the tired father 
finds joy and rest in cheap “jazzy” airs, there is all the more reason for counter¬ 
acting this tendency with periods every day when the child shall hear good things. 
Remember the child’s taste is forming now, and all the ambitions you may hold for 
a love of music in your child later is being determined now. Children who hear 
the beautiful selections over and over again as often choose these rather than the 
bad when given a chance, unless, of course, thoughtless remarks are made before 
the child, condemning these. The judgment of his superiors, forcefully expressed, 
determines very greatly the child’s ideals. If the music is too classical to suit 
some members of the family, in justice to the child’s right to hear and choose the 
best for himself, these thoughts should not be openly expressed. It often happens 
that, slightly to paraphrase a famous line, “he who comes to scoff remains to pray.” 
As the parent often learns to enjoy poetry, so he often finds peace and rest in the 
enjoyment of certain music which at first was unlovely because it had never been 
a part of his environment. 

Some excellent occasions for good music are early in the morning while the 
children are dressing; after the babies are in bed, when they can be quietly listening; 
a bit sometimes at mealtime, before or after the blessing; at the quiet times 
before naps, or instead of naps. And it has been found that a nervous tension in 
the family often may be broken by the unobtrusive use of a suitable piece of music. 

This rule should always be observed when listening to worthy music: no 
talking. There should at least be respect for others’ desire to listen. The mood 
of good music has no power where counter-excitements distract. Training for a 
decent behavior in other people’s homes and at public concerts should be begun 
here. No child or other person is required to listen if he doesn’t wish to; he is 
always at liberty to go to another room if he chooses, but he must learn not to talk 
if he remains in the room. 

Music may best start not as formal music lessons, but in years of hearing 
good music and songs and in learning to feel rhythm through bodily response 
in dance, or simple runs, skips and other activities set to music. The mind 




Later Childhood 


299 


must be music-trained to think music before the hands are asked to make it. 
And in the same way the child should hear over and over a simple song until he 
thinks it perfectly before he is allowed to sing it. It will be hard for him to get 
away from the wrong way when he has sung it. For this reason it is wise to ask 
him very early to respond with words sung two or three tones, and then in¬ 
crease the number of words and tones as he shows he can sing them. 

Even piano lessons may be started in this way. Two children, one six and a 
half, the other seven, are teaching themselves to play the little songs they have 
learned to sing. 

One child who has had at least four years of music saturation by hearing the 
best phonograph music and frequent string quartette practice in her home is doing 
very well in this, first playing the melody with one hand in any key in which she 
happened to start and then with both hands, using the octave. To make it more 
complete, her mother often plays the bass or her father plays with her on his violin. 
She has excellent rhythm, which shows the result of earlier training. By this 
method she is learning to think and feel music before she attempts to get the 
technique. Her difficulty with fingering seems to point toward a desire to be 
helped before long, but there will be no lessons until she has grasped the need for 
help and expresses a desire to work. Music is to be a much-desired thing, not 
ever a task, although there will be times when the task of keeping at her practice 
may make it temporarily drudgery, and she may need coercion. 

Number Work. The number interest as shown in arithmetic, which is organi¬ 
zed knowledge of number, does not develop much under the age of seven, and 
even in schools should not be taught as such under that age. Interest in counting, 
in quantities, in grouping and arranging, often in measures, appears at various 
ages, and wherever the child needs to add, divide or subtract for his own purposes 
he is interested in these processes. This is quite a different thing from organized 
and arranged number. Before the latter can have any real meaning for the 
child he should have built up a rich background made up of these processes, 
quantities and measurements in his every-day life, making number facts practical 
and real. The richer his experience with numbers, the quicker, truer and more 
thorough will be his understanding of arithmetic when he gets up to it. Arith¬ 
metic will be to him an easy process of sorting out, grouping and arranging for 
quick use of knowledge and facts already old for him. Some delay in order to 
provide a rich background for number will mean greater speed and thoroughness 
in the end. How to provide this experience is discussed in the article Number 
Work. 

Writing. Writing requires well-developed arm and hand muscles. Writing 
on paper, the best authorities argue, should not be taught until about the age of 




300 


The Foundation Library 


seven. But all the scribbling the little three-year-old does, and much of the 
blackboard drawing afterwards, may be used to aid later in writing. All the hand 
control achieved through cutting, building and work in clay have been a direct help 
to better writing. Any training which has strengthened the eyes has been ex¬ 
cellent preparation for writing. 

All the circular scribbling, the various slant lines, the horizontal strokes de¬ 
scribed for the two-to-three-year-old are just as useful here. With the idea of 
developing writing, the parent may use these for the five-year- or six-year-old as 
a series of lessons. Large marking crayons, wrapping paper or manila paper 
should be used, and also the blackboard. Large, free-arm movement always must 
be the objective. This sort of work is the kind that is done in the more liberal 
schools during the most of the first year. Later the children write words on the 
blackboard, but not on paper. 

Along with this muscular development should go another development, not 
related to the first so far as the child can see. It consists in learning to read 
writing as quickly as print. This gives the child a clear idea of the appearance 
of the letters before he attempts to form them. Write messages for them to read, 
also little letters, short stories, and the like. 

When the time comes to teach the letter forms, the mother should be careful 
to use only the ones to be taught in the school the child must attend. Buy a copy¬ 
book and work these out. If the child is unfortunate enough to have to learn 
the technique of writing in the first grade, this home help will have been valuable 
to him. 

However, this is looking ahead. It is the preparation for writing which should 
concern the home. The child will probably be in school by the time he begins his 
writing. Don’t try to teach any system of penmanship. Schools differ greatly 
in the systems they employ, and children are easily confused when they have to 
change from one to another. 

The kindergarten has had for its aim always the provision of these back¬ 
grounds for first grade work. The modern first grade in the best schools continue 
this kind of natural life, seeing to it that the provision of the proper background, 
which has only been provided haphazard in the various homes, is made a part of 
every child’s experience before the school begins its business of formal teaching. 
And then in these first grades the reading springs up spontaneously and joyously 
from the desires of the children when they are mentally ready, and later the 
reading and writing, as I have tried to show it, should grow in the home. Not 
all of our children are so fortunate in their schools, so it is all the more necessary 
that until we get the better instruction the intelligent home shall try all the more 
to make up for this lack. 






Later Childhood 


301 


Jfst of Habits to be Established in Six - and 
Serpen - Tear-Olds by c Pare7its 

Caution to parents on the use of these lists. Remember that your child is 
an individual, and as an individual will not develop exactly like any other. If 
you use these to force your child to “toe the mark” they will become a tool for 
injury instead of a help to him. These are intended as goals to be kept in mind 
and worked for, if you can secure in legitimate ways the cooperation of your 
child. Attainment may be claimed if your child does these things most of the 
time; you cannot expect, if he is a natural child, that he will always do the cor¬ 
rect thing spontaneously. 

Use these lists for your child, but do not expect 100 per cent perfection: 


HEALTH HABITS 

This and the following lists are printed by permission from “A Tentative Inventory of Habits,” 
Agnes Rogers, Teachers College Bulletin. 

1. Sleeps twelve hours every night with open window. 

2. Bathes regularly. 

3. Uses individual towel. 

4. Takes care of finger nails. 

5. Uses tooth brush properly. 

6. Wears proper clothing; wears night clothes at night. 






























































































302 


The Foundation Library 


7. Uses toilet properly. 

8. Washes hands after going to toilet. 

9. Eats only at meals. 

10. Drinks the proper quantity of milk and water daily. 

11. Eats some fruit and vegetables every day. 

12. Does not eat candy between meals. 

13. Keeps fingers and materials away from mouth, nose and ears. 

14. Uses handkerchief properly. 

15. Covers mouth when sneezing or coughing. 

16. Makes a proper use of drinking apparatus. 

17. Does not handle unnecessarily his own food or that of others. 

18. Holds body in erect position when standing. 

19. Holds handwork or book in a correct position. 

20. Observes rest period. 

21. Sits on his chair correctly. 

22. Plays part of every day out of doors. 

23. Avoids getting wet, wears rubbers, and removes damp clothing. 

24. Shows no fear of animals, storms or darkness. 

25. Carries out directions of school nurse, doctor and teacher. 

26. Does not go too often to moving pictures. 

PERSONAL HABITS. 

1. Comes to meals on time. 

2. Responds instantly to signals. 

3. Obeys the parent, or any one in authority. 

4. Eats with mouth closed. 

5. Takes mouthfuls of suitable size. 

6. Does not talk with mouth full. 

7. Permits few crumbs to fall when eating. 

8. Keeps floor clean. 

9. Puts away materials. 

10. Keeps desk, toys, shelves and closets in order. 

11. Does not waste materials. 

12. Closes doors and moves furniture quietly. 

13. Reports broken toys immediately. 

14. Tells the truth. 

15. Is careful with books. 

16. Values and takes care of thipgs he has made. 

17. Does not give up easily^ 




Later Childhood 


303 


18. Is reverent at prayer. 

19. Dresses and undresses himself morning and night. 

20. Goes to school regularly. 

21. Goes directly home from school. 

SOCIAL-MORAL HABITS. 

1. Is polite in entering or leaving rooms or in passing people. 

2. Says, “Please,” “Thank you,” “Excuse me,” “Good morning,” 
“Good-by.” 

3. Is friendly toward other children. 

4 . Does not “tattle.” 

5. Waits his turn. 

6 . Does not take the best for himself. 

7. Is willing to share materials and his own possessions. 

8 . Does not say or do anything to annoy others. 

9. Shows kindness to those who are younger or weaker. 

10. Plays fair and works fair. 

11. Allows the child who first obtains a toy to keep it. 

12. Does not take anything that belongs to another. 

13. Gives back to owner things lost. 

14. Does not quarrel. 

15. Settles difficulties without appealing to the adults. 

16. Does not needlessly interrupt others. 

17. Remembers that one person only should talk at a time. 

18. Obeys the rules of the family. 

19. Is willing to take part in group activities. 

20. Is good-natured under trying circumstances, for example, when he can¬ 
not have his own way, or when he loses his possessions. 

21. Does not take or destroy the property of others. 

22. Salutes when the flag is presented. 

23. Stands when the national anthem is sung. 

INTELLECTUAL HABITS. 

1. Comprehends immediately when addressed. 

2. Performs errands satisfactorily. 

3. Dramatizes a simple story. 

4. Narrates a simple story. 

5. Enjoys humorous situations. 

6 . Avoids ungrammatical forms of English like “it ain’t.” 





304 


The Foundation Library 


7. Listens attentively to nursery rhymes and stories. 

8 . Asks for help only when necessary. 

9. Helps to make usable rules. 

10. Finds useful occupations. 

11 . Uses good judgment in selection of materials. 

12. Concentrates on his work. 

13. Can see defects in his work and strives for improvement. 

14. Plans in advance the steps he must take to carry out his project. 

15. Holds his project in mind until it is completed. 

16. Appreciates success with school work. 

MOTOR SKILLS 


1. Puts wraps and rubbers in the proper place. 

2. Puts on and removes wraps quickly. 

3. Takes off and puts on his own rubbers. 

4. Uses feet alternately in going up and down stairs. 

5. Performs physical activities such as skipping, galloping, hopping, running, 
marching, dancing. 

6 . Carries liquids carefully. 

7. Ties shoestrings, sashes, ribbons, etc. 

8 . Handles crayon, paintbrush and pencil properly. 

9. Uses needle and scissors. 

10. Can use spade, shovel, fork, trowel, rake, hoe. 

11 . Can hammer, saw, plane, use brace and bit and knife^ 

12. Counts children, chairs, etc. 

13. Taps to music. 

14. “Carries” a tune. 

15. Sings softly. 

16. Articulates clearly. 

17. Uses a pleasing voice. 

18. Arranges flowers well. 















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School Days 


305 



Reading a Necessary Accomplishment 

Madeline Darrough Horn 


MOTHER does not need to be convinced that her child should become an 



excellent reader. She realizes daily that reading is the tool to many neces- 


sary things. She knows that she must read accurately to get the desired re¬ 
sults from her recipe. She knows she must read correctly to copy properly the pat¬ 
tern of Italian cut-work described in her magazine. She also knows that the father 
of the household must be a good reader to use his professional magazines to the 
best advantage. And when the mother thinks of the many school subjects— 
geography, history, civics, physiology, and many more—to which reading is the 
key, she is inspired to lend a helping hand in making her child the excellent 
reader he ought to become. 

A recent investigation of the silent reading abilities of low-ranking university 
students further shows the need of being a good silent reader. It was suggested 
to certain teachers who realized how often reading is the key to other subjects 
in a university curriculum that possibly some students made poor grades not 
because they were lacking in brain power but because they were poor readers. 
Intelligence tests were first given to ascertain the native mental capacity of these 
students. Then followed the testing of their silent-reading abilities. It was 
found that all were poor readers—even those with average or more than average 
intelligence. In fact, most of these students could not read as well as the average 
sixth-grade pupil in a school where reading was given its full share of emphasis. 


READING PRESENTS MANY PROBLEMS 


It would seem that reading must necessarily be easy to learn, because so 
many people have mastered it. However, investigation of adult reading would 
show that this mastery is often of a very poor quality. We want our children not 
only to learn to read, but also to learn to read well. With this ideal in mind, 
teachers have many problems to solve, if the quickest and most lasting means of 
teaching reading are discovered. The following problems suggest only a few 
of the many that must be answered: 











306 


The Foundation Library 


1. How can we insure quick and accurate response to thought units? 

2. Does lip movement retard speed? 

3. What physical qualities (smooth or rough paper, size of print, kind of 

ink, etc.) must a book have to prevent eye strain? 

4. How can we train children to make proper eye pauses ? 

These are a few of the many problems constantly arising that can be set¬ 
tled only by experimentation. Many teachers are working on these problems, 
and in a few years our information will be much more illuminating and abundant 
than it is now. In the meantime, if teachers and mothers make use of all present 
knowledge, they can greatly improve the reading abilities of our children. 

KINDS OF READING—SILENT AND ORAL 

That reading is not all of one kind does not always occur to us. One way 
of describing the types of reading is to say that they are of two kinds—oral and 
silent. Each type has problems of its own, as well as many in common. 

Oral reading is necessary when the family group is assembled for the story 
hour, to hear mother read a poem, John tell a story, or father read an interesting 
item from the newspaper. 

Silent reading is the voiceless reading we use when we read the newspaper, 
a tale from a magazine, or a pamphlet on health conditions of our city. It is 
safe to say that the bulk of our reading is of this kind. As children progress in 
the grades, means are used to develop more and more this type of reading, be¬ 
cause it is the type children will use most as they progress in the grades and in 
life outside the school. 

SILENT READING FOR THE BEGINNERS 

Here is a type of silent reading both mothers and teachers have 
found effective for beginners. It is not only effective, but is also 
“great fun,” if conducted with our so-called “pep.” If mothers ever 
run across the term “flash cards” in their educational reading, it is 
the educational term for the process the writer is about to describe. 
To define it: A flash-card is a strip of cardboard with words, sentences, or 
phrases printed on it and used in helping children to master silent reading. The 
materials needed to make these cards, with a word of explanation, are as follows: 

I. Cardboard. The town printer can supply left-overs (these are cheapest) 
for this purpose. Let the printer cut them the proper size, as he 
can do it so easily with his machine. Have the cards cut four or 
five inches wide. This gives enough width for good-sized lettering. 
The length will vary with the length of the word, phrase or sen- 







School Days 


307 


tence that is to be printed on them. Make the length of all the 
cards in each set the same, as they are more easily handled and have 
a better appearance. Choose a white or manila cardboard. A col¬ 
ored one involves unnecessary eye strain. 

2. Ink. Use the so-called “show-card” ink. India ink is good, too, but is 

more expensive. 4 

3. Lettering pen. A lettering pen is broad at the end, instead of pointed. A 

width of an eighth of an inch is satisfactory. 

4. Rubber bands. These are a great help, but not essential. They keep the 

sets of flash cards from getting mixed and individual cards from 
being lost. 

5. Place to keep them. Often materials upon which mothers spend a great 

deal of time and thought are destroyed because there is no adequate 
place to store them. A box or shelf of sufficient length, and free 
from dust, will answer the purpose for storing these flash cards. A 
set of cards taken care of in this way will last as long as the children 
need them. 

How to Print the Words, Phrases or Sentences. Learning to letter these 
cards will work out very much like learning to embroider. First attempts will be 
poor, but practice and patience will eventually bring a presentable product. 

Make the letters about three inches high and about an eighth of an inch thick. 
This width and height avoid eye strain. 

Use capital letters, and punctuate just as you would for adult reading. 

Substitute Material. If you are a rural mother, and trips to town are few, do 
not be discouraged. Use substitutes. The rural teacher will especially welcome 
help from mothers, as she probably has fifteen children of varying ages scattered 
through a number of grades, with not only reading but all subjects to teach. 

Cardboard boxes, or even wrapping paper, could be used. Cardboard has 
the advantage of being more easily handled, because of its stiffness. Ordinary 
ink and pen or a crayon could be used. It would take longer to give the width to 
the letter and would not make so bold a type. However, working with substitutes 
is better than not working at all. Some of these exercises could be managed with a 
blackboard and chalk. 

What to Print on These Cards. The following are merely suggestive; they 
by no means exhaust the possibilities of this type of work. It is hoped that the 
following examples will inspire mothers to elaborate the plan, using their personal 
home situations and wealth of ingenuity. Mothers will be surprised to know how 
rapidly these exercises will increase the number of words a child can read. 

Action Cards. One set of cards the writer has used with her own child is the 



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“action” cards. Each card has a word suggesting an action printed on it; for in¬ 
stance, such words as skip, hop, run, sit, stand, jump, gallop, walk on tip-toe, side¬ 
step, bend, etc. To use them, the mother only exposes the card she wants the child 
to see. The child responds by doing what the printed word suggests. If “skip” 
were flashed, he would skip; if “hop” were flashed, he would hop; and so on. 

Names of Pieces of Furniture. Another set might have the names of pieces 
of furniture printed on them, such as table, chair, stove, piano, rug, etc. The child 
could be asked to touch the article of furniture the exposed card asks for. 

Object Cards. Another exercise is this one: Have a basket of objects— 
pencils, chalk, cup, pins, etc. Make suitable cards. As a card is flashed, ask the 
child to pick up from the basket the object the card indicates. 

Yes and No Cards. These sets can be built up about familiar household ob¬ 
jects. Such statements as the following could be made: 

The child reads the statement and responds suitably with “Yes” or “No”: 

“My dog has feathers.” 

“My dog has two feet.” 

“My chicken has four feet.” 

“My cat purrs.” 

“My canary is yellow.” 

Your own household situation will suggest an end¬ 
less variety of these “Yes” and “No” cards. 

Preposition Cards. These little words are often con¬ 
fusing. Action sentences involving them will help: 
“Put the book on the table.” 

“Put the book under the table.” 

“Go up the stairs.” 

“Go down the stairs.” 

As each card is flashed, the child responds by doing as it directs. 

Use a Vocabulary the Child Understands. There are several cautions in 
building up and teaching reading from these cards. Be sure to use only those 
words whose meanings the child understands. This is not difficult, because a six- 
year-old has at his command a large number of words. 

Speed an Essential. Another caution is to remember always to manipulate 
these cards quickly—as fast as a child can comprehend the word. If you let the 
exercise lag, the bad habits of a slow reader might develop and become permanent. 

THESE CARDS A CHECK ON COMPREHENSION 

This type of exercise gives a mother a check by which she can determine 
whether a child is comprehending what he reads. Have you had your child read a 







School Days 


309 


Mother Goose rhyme to you perfectly, much to your delight, and later you found 
this reading was only an excellent feat of memory? If the word “table” is flashed 
and the child places the card on a chair, it is obvious that he did not read correctly. 

PHONICS 

Phonics are usually too technical a task for the mother. It takes a specially- 
trained person to teach them properly. In fact, the study of phonics is such an 
extensive one that in some universities professors have as their sole aim that of 
finding out all they can about the sounds of our language. However, if a mother’s 
training has been such that she feels she can give her child additional help in 
phonics, this procedure might be followed: Learn from the child’s classroom 
teacher the method she uses. Use this same method at home, to avoid any con¬ 
fusion for the child that might arise from a conflict of methods. 

READING FROM BOOKS 

This should go hand in hand with the work with the flash cards. Neither 
should be neglected. Reading out of books for the beginner usually means read¬ 
ing our children’s best literature, as this is the type of reading we most often find 
in our good primers and first readers. We find Mother Goose rhymes, the easy 
poems of such authors as Christina Rossetti and Robert Louis Stevenson, and our 
never-grow-old folk tales like “The Three Bears,” “Three Billy Goat’s Gruff,” 
“The Gingerbread Boy.” This fortunate choice of subject matter by the editors 
of these books at once insures a lively interest on the part of the child. 

The type of reader to avoid is the one whose contents would hold the interest 
cf only a two-year-old. A six-year-old child has grown into quite a person! He 
can think very well, has many interests, and is happiest when life is proving 
complex and interesting rather than simple and dull. This type of reader trails 
along something like this: 

“I see a cat.” “I see a rat.” “The rat sees a cat.” 

A DISCUSSION OF METHOD 

If one picks up manuals on reading, numerous methods for the beginner are 
suggested. This condition suggests the truth that this field is one in which we 
need much more experimentation to justify one course as against another. The 
procedure the writer suggests is one that many first-grade teachers have found 
successful, and on that basis alone it is recommended. 

Be Sure the Child Knows the Meanings of All Words. Before attempting 
to teach a child to read any piece of literature, be sure he knows the meanings of 
all the words. Even Mother Goose has a way of introducing unfamiliar words. 



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Some children might need an explanation of “crown” in “Jack and Jill.” Others 
might not know the meaning of “meadow” in “Little Boy Blue.” Three words in 
“Little Miss Muffet” always need explaining—“tuffet,” “curds” and “whey.” 

Read the Story First. Read the story or poem to the child until he is fa¬ 
miliar with it before starting the actual reading. Children will already be fa¬ 
miliar with the content of most readers if the mothers have given them a proper 
background in literature in their earlier years. In the course of this reading, ex¬ 
plain any words that might be unfamiliar. 

How to Do It. A cardboard marker about four inches long and an inch wide 
helps the child to mark off the line he is working on. Be sure he understands 
that a spoken word is represented by a printed one. Suppose the mother and 
child sit side by side, both looking on the page to be read, with the first line indi¬ 
cated with a marker. The mother might read the first line and then ask, “Do you 
find any words you already know?” These can be picked out. Then the mother 
suggests, “Now you read it.” There must follow a test of the recognition of indi¬ 
vidual words and phrases. The mother might ask, if the story of “The Three 
Little Pigs” is being read, “What are these words ?” indicating the phrases “Once 
upon a time.” If the child does not know it, tell him. Again, she might ask, 
“What is this word?” indicating the word “pig.” If he knows it, pass on; if not, 
tell him. The mother can determine the amount of repetition necessary. 

Drill Necessary. There is no denying that this process is drill. But re¬ 
member, children do not mind drill if it is going to teach them to perform that 
wonderful feat that unlocks untold treasures of information they can get all by 
themselves without calling on a reluctant or busy parent! 

Flash Cards, a Help. The flash cards can be used to vary and check this 
process of word, phrase and sentence recognition. Again using “The Three Pigs” 
as an illustration, make cards with such words and phrases as these on them: 
“Three little pigs,” “mother pig,” “a man,” “with a load of straw.” These might 
be spread out on a table. The mother reads, and when she pauses the child is to 
indicate the word or phrase that completes her sentence. For instance, the 

mother reads, “Once upon a time there was a.” The child should 

point to “mother pig.” A mother’s ingenuity can vary this checking exercise with 
the flash cards so it will continue to be good fun. 

Length of Period. Several fifteen-minute periods are more desirable than 
one long period. A child’s physical make-up is such that we must not expect 
adult concentration. 

Care of the Eyes. Learning to read is probably the severest strain the 
child’s eyes have had. In the beginning, if you have any reason to suspect eye 
defects, have the eyes examined. 




School Days 


311 


The development of Handwriting 

Anna Mae Brady 

T HE child finds himself in a great, unexplainable world, wherein all things 
are new and strange to him. He is continually receiving new impressions 
and reacting toward them. If he is a normal child, he gives expression 
through laughing, crying and bodily movements. These are supplemented by talk¬ 
ing, as soon as he masters that feat. But a little later even these prove inadequate. 
All the pathways of approach to his little mind are open, and he feels the urge to 
open up new ones for the discharge of his pent-up energy. So he imitates his 
elders and makes use of scissors, brush, pencil and crayon. 

The mother who understands utilizes this desire for new modes of expression 
on the part of her child in teaching the beginning steps of writing. It is true that 
he has no need of writing at this time. He has no background for it—only a desire 
to execute. But as handwriting calls for a highly specialized form of muscular 
development, the time can be profitably used in preparatory work. In teaching 
him to read, we first lead him to get the thought, the tone, the rhythm of speech 
before he masters the written words; so in writing there is a play-time leading 
toward muscular control. 

Materials Used. Our motive in teaching writing is that the child not only may 
express his ideas in this way, but also that he may execute in a free, fluent and 
pleasurable manner. It is impossible to write freely, fluently and pleasurably if 
one uses a cramped style. In other words, it is impossible to write well or easily 
if one rests the wrist and hand on the paper and writes with the finger movement. 
The desirable way is to use the large muscles of the arm instead of the fingers. 

Children are bits of plastic material put before us. They are ours, to make or 
mar. We can give them correct writing habits or we can give them incorrect 
ones. It is for us to choose. 

With this in mind, we should see to it that children are provided with the 
right sort of material. Pens, small pencils and ruled paper are conducive to 
cramped writing, while crayon, large crayolas and large pencils make for mus¬ 
cular movements. 

Every child should have access to a blackboard. It furnishes the large chalk 
so necessary; the surface is soft and soothing to the nerves, and it also permits 
supervision by the mother. The blackboard is an excellent answer to the ever- 
recurring question, “What shall I do, mother?” It provides an opportunity to 
re-live old activities, to create, to put one’s self in the other fellow’s place—all 
through picture writing—and thereby life becomes bigger and broader. 

Picture Writing. Primitive man wrote pictorially before he wrote alphabeti- 





312 


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cally, and the child if left to his own devices will follow the same mode of pro¬ 
cedure, for he develops in exactly the same way as did the race. Naturally, then, 
the picture writing and rhythm work come before the writing of words. Teach¬ 
ing him to write without first giving him the idea back of what he writes is like 
teaching him to read words of which he does not know the meaning. 

The first attempts at pictorial writing are of course very crude. They would 
be unnatural if they were not. The child does not see detail, but only the mass, 
and he executes accordingly. His wonderful imaginative power fills in the breach 
caused by the lack of coordination of mind and muscle. 

Stories like the following would be unreadable without the aid of the little 
interpreter, to whom they are entirely clear. They are deserving of the mother’s 
most careful attention, for in them her child is telling a story. If he is encour¬ 
aged to write pictorially he will soon develop into the next stage of writing. 
They are not meaningless scrawls. They are the beginnings of that wonderful 
art of handwriting. 



In this picture writing the child will use only straight lines for his figures. 
He will linger in this stage until he has some power of execution, and then he 
will demand something more difficult. In other words, when he has some skill in 
picture writing, he will then want to write “just like mother does.” Consequently, 
all the aid the mother can give him in this play period preceding the writing of 
words and letters is most valuable, for it develops the working in unison of mind 
and muscle. 

It is best to permit the child to take the initiative in this, if possible. En¬ 
courage him to make these pictures, giving careful attention as he “reads” them. 
Suggest new activities for him to represent. The more action a story contains, 
the more anxious he will be to represent it. 











School Days 


313 


Any of these straight line figures will be welcomed with joy by the average 
child when he is learning to write. 

Rhythmic Writing. Hand in hand with this picture writing goes the work 
in rhythm. These two are of vital importance, and must in no way be neglected. 
Formerly it was considered legitimate to introduce the child at once to the word, 
and expect him to write it. Now we know it is too difficult—the race mastered 
it only yesterday. If we begin at once with the writing of words and sentences, 
the child will have neither motor images that command nor coordinated muscles 
that execute. 

Children are instinctively interested in the regular recurrence of action and 
sound. They are so full of this sense of rhythm that they love to dance, swing 
and sway to music or to musical sounds. The same music may induce one child 
to do a certain thing and another to do just the opposite, but they all have one 
thing in common, and that is the feeling of this rhythm. It enters through the 
ear and finds a responsive chord in their bodies. 



The mother can make use of this love of rhythm in the development of 
muscular control. She can begin with Mother Goose rhymes, because they repre¬ 
sent the heart beats of the race when it, too, was in that rhythmic stage. The 
child knows them. They are his rightful heritage, and he loves them because they 
are so full of pictures and action which he can understand. He is used to putting 
them to little tunes of his own making as well as moving his body to their rhythm. 

At the suggestion of the mother, as she repeats the jingle, he will mark the 
rhythm on blackboard or on paper. Here are some that have been worked out 
by children. 

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, 

Jack jump over the candlestick, 


was expressed in this way: 




314 


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This is how the old rhyme of Jack and Jill looked: 





Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, 

The cow jumped over the moon; 

The little dog laughed to see such sport, 

And the dish ran away with the spoon— 

brought this picture: 

III III O ill III O 

This is Humpty Dumpty: 

OO-OO OO-OO- 

The beating of a drum is represented in this way: 

I! Ill II III II III 

After a child learns to express himself through these short jingles, longer 
verses may be used. The poems of Robert Louis Stevenson are childlike, full 
of action, and still hold that poetry of motion so necessary for rhythmic writing. 
This one is especially liked: 

How do you like to go up in a swing, 

Up in the air so blue? 

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing 
Ever a child can do. 

Up in the air and over the wall, 

Till I can see so wide,— 

Rivers and trees and cattle and all, 

Over the countryside. 

Till I look down on the garden green, 

Down on the roofs so brown, 

Up in the air I go sailing again, 

Up in the air and down. 

The poem is first discussed until its meaning is perfectly clear. Then it is 
memorized and often represented in this way: 



In this way the child is given the foundations of handwriting—rhythm and 
coordinated muscles; best of all, it has not been given in the form of work, but 
in the spirit of play. 

More Exercises for Muscular Control. The child is now ready for the more 
formal exercises for muscular control, but they, too, are much more effective if 








School Days 


315 


given in the spirit of play. The mother will first show how it is done, then erase 
her work so there will be no tendency to copy, and then count while the child 
does the exercises. 

Here are some directions and responses: 

This little girl is jumping the rope. She can jump three times without missing. 



See her take ten steps forward: 



She can go backward ten steps, too: 



Here is a little boy going up hill. The hill is slippery, and no sooner does he 
reach the top than he slips down again. See him go up, down, up, down: 



Do you remember the story of Raggybug? I am going to make a picture of 
him. Watch me make his body as I count ten. I shall count ten as I make one 
ear, now the other, now the tail. Erase, and make it as I count. First the body, 
then the ears, and then the tail: 





316 


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Let us place eight eggs side by side. I shall count ten as I make each egg. 
Watch me: 



Here is a bird’s nest. See me make it as I count ten. You make one as I 
count. Let us make another, and put some eggs in it. How many eggs shall we 
put in? We shall have to make them rather small, in order to get them in. Make 
the nest as I count ten. Now, each egg as I count five: 



Of course only one of these exercises should be presented at a time. Children 
will often suggest others. No matter what the writing lesson is to be, it should be 
preceded by exercises of this sort, in order to “limber up” the muscles. At the 
bginning of the writing of words and sentences one half of the time should be 
taken up with this work. In the early stages this should be given on the black¬ 
board or with large pencils or crayolas, but it should be continued long after the 
child begins to write with pen and ink. If paper is used, the unruled should be 
chosen, for we want the child to use the big muscles of his arm; if he has to 
think about confining his efforts to a small space he is inclined to use a cramped 



finger movement. When he has mastered the major difficulties and it is clearly 
evident that he is using the muscular movement, then paper with wide spaces may 
be introduced. When he learns to follow these lines with no difficulty, the or¬ 
dinary spaced paper should be provided. 

The Writing of Words and Sentences. Formerly when a child was taught to 
write he was given the letters separately, and these were later combined into 
words. To-day there is a feeling that there should be just as much thought back 
of the written expression as there is in the reading. In the latter subject we no 



School Days 


317 


longer teach single letters first, but the word as a whole. If a child is taught 
letters, he will see letters when what we desire is that he should see the larger 
unit. This principle holds equally true in writing. 

For the first word to be written it is well to select one with which the child 
is entirely familiar, one that is simple and full of meaning for him. A word 
taken from his favorite story will usually be attractive, and he will want to learn 
to make it. For instance, if he happens to be interested in the story of “The 
Little Red Hen,” the word “hen” may be selected as being simple and appro¬ 
priate. 

First, the mother should carefully write the word several times, having the 
child watch her. Then she should erase it, for the child should not be taught to 
imitate. He must, on the contrary, be led to rely on his own resources and ex¬ 
press himself. He then attempts to write the word as he remembers it. No 


matter how crude the writing, it should be praised, for it represents his first at¬ 
tempt and his best effort. If he hesitates as he writes, he should be stopped and 
told to watch as the word is written again, for fluency is one of the aims of writ¬ 
ing, and it is of supreme importance that correct habits be established from the 
beginning. After the word has been written once, it should be repeated again and 
again until he is perfectly familiar with it. 

A simple sentence may be used instead of the word, if so desired. In either 
case, it is important to refer to the story or poem from which it was taken, in 
order that he may put some thought back of his writing. 

When once he has some idea of the words as a whole, a drill may be given on 
the separate letters of which it is composed. 

Pen and Ink. As soon as the child can write simple words and sentences 
easily and fluently, he is ready for pen and ink. Now that he has mastered the 
mechanics of writing, both mother and child can devote themselves largely to the 
development of muscular movement. This must be mastered before he begins on 
the form of the letters. The thumb and first two fingers hold the pen in place, 
with a grip only firm enough to keep the penholder from slipping. Only the ends 
of the last two fingers and the muscle near the elbow should touch paper or desk. 
When once the correct position is assumed, the thumb and fingers remain un¬ 
moved in their relative positions. The elbow muscle becomes the pivot on which 
all movement depends. It moves the pen up and down and describes an arc 
from left to right. 





318 


The Foundation Library 


If left to follow his own inclinations, the child will at once begin to write words 
and sentences. This he should not be permitted to do unless it is evident that he 
is making use of the same muscular movement that he used in writing with 
crayon and pencil. Exercises like the ovals and the push-pull will promote the 
use of the big muscles. 

Grouping for Practice. Many of the letters, both capitals and small letters, 
are similar in form, and may well be combined for practice work. When one has 
learned to make the capital O well he has acquired the movement and largely the 
form of D, A and C; also the E combines almost the same principles. There¬ 
fore, we join in our first group, O, A, C and E: 



You should practice with patience on the first character, the direct oval, be¬ 
fore attempting to form the letters which follow it. 

A second group includes P, B and R. Mastery of the first makes easy the 
other two. Before attempting the letters, practice long upon the indirect oval and 
the downward and upward straight lines—a push and pull exercise: 



Another group includes N, M, H and K. Preceding the forms of these letters 
are movement exercises: 



A still larger group comprises U, V, W, X, Y and Z. 
exercises first: 



Practice the movement 




School Days 


319 



The three following groups complete the alphabet of capital letters. These 


are based on the figure 8 exercise and variations of it: 





In conclusion, we place in two groups all the capitals and small letters, to 
serve as convenient copies for much careful practice work. All of this work 
should serve for many hours of practice. 





320 The Foundation Library 



& 7 8" f o 








School Days 


321 




Be pleased to remember that in order to become a good penman—one who does 
not have to apologize for the appearance of his handwriting—all that is needed 
is the will to persevere. 

It may not be out of place to give particular emphasis to the last sentence 
above. Particularly illuminating is it to have brought to one’s attention a thing 
that is seldom considered, and that is this: There are twenty-six capital letters 
and twenty-six small letters, a total of fifty-two. Even if these were all made 
differently, the task of mastering each of the fifty-two forms would not be 
difficult; but as a matter of fact many letters contain almost the same principles, 
so the mastery of all the forms is manifestly simplified. There hardly exists a 
rational human being, who if he would exercise even a little determination, could 
not become an excellent penman. By degrees it is desirable to impress this 
encouraging fact upon the mind of the growing and persevering child. Help 
him to see how really simple a matter it is to become a good penman, and im¬ 
press upon him the satisfaction he will get through life from good handwriting. 

Letter Writing. Writing will be of little value to the child unless he has 
something to write. Most every child is only too eager to make use of this 
newly-acquired skill in writing, to his friends. He needs to be trained to plan 
and talk over what he is going to write, and then he may sit down and write it 
neatly and quickly. He should have before him a letter which he will be able 
to follow after some explanation by the mother. 




322 


The Foundation Library 


Heading 


Form of a Typical Letter 

P^ay^ y23. 

z*e3~><zPfy*e~e^~ 

^/kaAsTfc&us (Salutation) 


(Introduction) 


Body of Letter 


Complimentary 

Close 






Addressed 

Envelope 


It is equally important that the child be early introduced to the simple business 
forms. When something is to be ordered, permit him not only to make out the 
order, but teach him how to do it. 











School Days 


323 


/O/O 






There are two types of invitations with which the child needs to become fa¬ 
miliar—the formal and the informal. He can in this way invite his friends to his 





324 


The Foundation Library 


CtAst*?. 


VS^/^J. 



parties, real and imaginary, and accept or decline the invitations which are sent 
to him (see next page). 

Stories and Poems. To become a good penman, one needs to practice a great 
deal. With a child this practice will become irksome unless the exercises are 
given in the form of games, and the material written is something in which he is 
interested. 

Stories are very fascinating at this period and he likes to reproduce them in 
different sorts of ways. He will enjoy writing them, but in so doing it is not to 
be expected that any attention will be given to minor details. He will perhaps 
tell a complete story in two or three sentences. On page 326 is a reproduction 
of the story of the “Three Billy Goats,” as written by a six-year-old child. 



School Days 


325 









3J 

■=^L*dS 





&3 




326 


The Foundation Library 


“The Three Billy Goats wanted to go over on the hillside. They wanted to eat grass. 
The old Troll would not let them cross the bridge but the biggest goat bunted him off. Then 
they ate the grass and grew very fat indeed.” 

Not only should the child re-tell the folk-tales but he should write original 
ones after having discussed the subject thoroughly beforehand. Here is one from 
a child five and one-half years old: 

JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT. 

I have some Jack-in-the-Pulpits. I picked them Saturday. They like shady, damp, 
places. They are purplish brown and green. The Indians cooked the roots. Sometimes 
they called them Indian Turnips. The pulpit looks like an umbrella. Way down there 
are little flowers. Afterwards the pulpit drops off and the Jack all dries up and the little 
flowers turn to little red berries. 

Children love poetry, and when encouraged to read and write it, life for them 
takes on a new meaning. Some of their efforts are as follows: 

The Kingfisher 

Oh, little fisherman with a little 
Coat of blue, 

How to you do? 

You fish all day, 

And then you play. 

Sweet Roses 
Roses, sweet roses 
I wonder why, 

In the green grass, 

You pleasantly lie. 

Drinking the rain, 

And enjoying the sun, 

Roses, sweet roses, 

Please tell me the fun. 

The Secret 
Pretty little fairies, 

That have such tiny wings, 

That fly about so often 
In summer and the spring. 

Where do you lie 
In grasses high? 

Or in the trees up there? 

Where do you sleep at night? 

Won’t you tell me dear ? 



School Days 


327 


Number Work 

Anna Mae Brady 

T HE only legitimate excuse adults have for forcing the knowledge of any 
subject upon plastic childhood is that through this knowledge the growing 
child is better able to cope with new and untried experiences and to solve 
the intricate problems which appear on every hand—in short, that this added 
power will make for a fuller and a richer life. The study of number work will 
successfully pass this test. A knowledge of its principles and operations is abso¬ 
lutely essential for every normal person who would take his place in the affairs of 
men. The child is forced to make use of it as soon as his mental faculties begin 
to function. 

The mother who wants more than all things else to help her child in every 
way, so that he will react to the experiences of life in an intelligent manner, will 
early familiarize herself with the most approved methods of presenting this im¬ 
portant subject to the little child entrusted to her care. It is true that the 
fundamental processes are the same as when she received the instruction, but 
fortunately through progress in educational affairs we are year by year coming 
into a knowledge of more economical methods of presenting the same subject 
matter. 

The arithmetic of yesterday was a formal thing. It dealt with problems foreign 
to the experience of the child. It was dull and uninteresting to the majority, 
because of it remoteness and because of the unattractive way in which it was 
presented. To-day all this is changed, for the subject is now related to life. The 
city child is no longer forced to work unending problems dealing with bushels of 
wheat and acres of land which he has never seen and which of course hold no 
interest for him. The country child no longer works problems of the shop and 
factory. On the contrary, each group of children and each individual child now 
perfect the fundamental processes by working out problems within their under¬ 
standing and experience. Consequently, number work means more to them. 
They feel that they are not working endless problems to prepare them for some 
future experience which may never come to them, but on the contrary, in the 
range of their probable experience they are given work which is quite certain will 
help them intelligently to solve the little problems which are confronting them 
every day in their relationship with other people. They are laying most essential 
foundations. 

The mother who would help her child must become imbued with this idea. 
She will not present material which deals with future school work or the business 
of life, but only such as will take care of his immediate needs. Life is a won- 



328 


The Foundation Library 


derful experience full of opportunities and possibilities. It does not exist entirely 
in the future. It is with us now, a living, breathing reality; and the baby who is 
helped to live it more abundantly by solving his little problems is not only made 
happier thereby, but at the same time the foundations of his future are laid. 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF NUMBER 

Primitive man, as long as he lived by himself, had little need for number, but 
as soon as he began to live with others and had to take them into consideration, 
then the necessity for this knowledge became imperative. Without possession of 
number facts he was unable to trade or barter, could not ascertain the number of 
skins necessary to clothe his family nor estimate the strength of the hostile tribe. 

The first attempts of the race to develop the number idea were simple and very 
crude indeed, but they were sufficient for the time being, for they answered im¬ 
mediate needs, and that was all that was necessary. As civilization advanced and 
the experiences of life became more complex, this science developed accordingly. 

The savage formulated his number concepts by using his fingers as counters, 
and when all were used he referred them to numbers as “a hand,” meaning 5 ; 
“two hands” meant 10 . In Madagascar a chief was once observed counting his 
army as follows: The soldiers passed before the chief and a pebble was dropped 
as a counter as each one passed. When ten pebbles had been dropped, one pebble 
was set aside and a new pile begun, and again when the pile had grown to ten, 
one was set aside, and so on until ten had been set aside, when one was set aside 
to mean one hundred. The Aztecs indicated io by a picture of the “upper half 
of man,” and their word for io was matlactli, or hand-half. Some Indian tribes 
in the North express twenty thus: “A man come to an end.” Another tribe 
calls it “One Indian ended.” 

These few illustrations taken from thousands that travelers have brought to us 
from the remote tribes indicate the attempt of. the low races to formulate number 
relations so they may have some control over this important element of number 
in the life about them, by which they count and estimate their possessions and 
carry on trade and compare the wealth and strength of different tribes. The 
same need that leads to this crude formulation on the part of the savage leads 
to the finer formulation and study of arithmetic as it is found among the more 
civilized peoples of the world. Of course the culture value of arithmetic is more 
or less to the front in the higher civilization, but emphasis on the culture value 
is much criticized; especially at the present time, when technical and vocational 
work is attracting the attention and receiving the approval of a large part of 
schoolmen and laymen, there is a tendency to teach arithmetic for its utilitarian 
value. 




School Days 


329 


A good distance back in the centuries we find it taught in the schools of the 
Far East merely for its utility, and therefore only those parts of it that were 
useful to the people and answered their vital needs were given consideration. 
Among the great traders of Southwestern Asia—the Phoenicians, Babylonians 
and others—we find that arithmetic was taught extensively, as is seen by the 
tablets found by excavation in that part of the world. The tablets show com¬ 
prehensive bank accounts, and some recently found show work of school children. 
Among some of the Semitic people arithmetic occupied from one-third to one-half 
of all the school time during the years corresponding to our later grade and high- 
school years. In the commercial cities arithmetic was taught entirely for its 
utility. Italy as a commercial nation gave to the world mercantile arithmetic. 
During the time of the Hanseatic League the merchants throughout the com¬ 
mercial cities and all along the routes of trade demanded that the arithmetic of 
trade and commerce be taught, and w T hen the products of the church school did 
not satisfy them they set up schools of their own for the study of arithmetic 
under control of a rechenmeister, who was usually the city sealer of weights and 
measures. Indeed, arithmetic was so completely dominated by commerce that it 
was no longer mentioned in the courses of study of even the best schools. 

Among the Romans and the Greeks we find a few pleas for the study of 
arithmetic for its culture value. Plato, Aristotle and Pythagoras all set value 
upon it as a cultural subject. Plato said, “It awakens the soul;” Pythagoras 
placed it with gymnastics and music as the three great educational subjects, nam¬ 
ing them in this order: gymnastics, music and mathematics. “By the first the 
pupil was strengthened; by the second, purified; and by the third, perfected and 
made ready for the society of the gods,” he wrote. 

COUNTING 

The mother’s first efforts to' teach number to her child will be in teaching 
counting. It is true that at this time the numbers will be meaningless to him, 
but he will nevertheless like to say them because of their rhythm. This sense 
is very acute in the child at this period, and the saying of the numbers is music 
to his ears because he hears in it the regular recurrence of sound. 

At an early time in its development the race was in that rhythmic stage when 
it loved to swing and sway to musical sounds and to tickle the ear by making 
up words and sentences that rhymed. It was then that peoples proceeded to pro¬ 
duce the first race literature, the rhymes and jingles which were handed down by 
word of mouth from generation to generation until printing came into use and 
thus these efforts were finally made available for the children of all ages. These 
jingles are the rightful heritage of our boys and girls, and they are beloved by 



330 


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every child in every land, not so much because they tell interesting childlike 
stories but because of the rhythm they contain. 

The saying of numbers belongs to the category of musical sounds—musical 
at least to the ears of children. Therefore in teaching children to count we are 
not only giving them pleasure but we are teaching them something which they 
can apply to their everyday experiences. 

The child is essentially interested in his own body and the body of his mother. 
So the counting of his little fingers and toes as well as the finger plays produced 
by the mother prove most fascinating—in fact, so much so that they become a part 
of his very life. 

Every mother has touched her baby’s toes and said: 

This little pig went to market, 

This little pig stayed at home, 

This little pig had bread and milk, 

This little pig had none; 

This little pig said “Wee wee” all the way home. 

But not every mother realizes that in so doing she is presenting number work. 
The child does not know it, either, and that is the best sort of early instruction; 
but he does begin to realize that those little pink toes which he had regarded as 
a mass are separate things. Later he comes to know that there are five of them. 

This little rhyme helps fix the names of the numbers, especially if the mother 
uses her fingers to represent the Indians: 

John Brown had a little Indian, 

John Brown had a little Indian, 

John Brown had a little Indian, 

One little Indian boy. 

One little, two little, three little Indians, 

Four little, five little, six little Indians, 

Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians, 

Ten little Indian boys. 

Children like this finger play: The mother locks her fingers together and 
shows them the top as she says, “Here is a hill.” Now she shows the fingers: 
“And here ten little men. Up jump the little men—i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.” 
As she says each number she raises a finger. 

While in this rhythmic stage the child should be taught to count as far as 
possible by 1 s the goal, of course, being 100. Then he can be as easily taught 
to count to 100 by 10’s and by 5’s. He can repeat the names glibly, yet he may 




School Days 


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not know that there is any difference between two objects of a kind and five 
objects of the same kind, except that he has a vague notion of quantity. Offer 
him his choice of two sacks of candy; his decision will not be based upon the 
number of pieces but upon bulk or colors or previous experience in taste. His 
choice is made because he sees more pleasure in one group than in another. For 
the same reason he may choose a penny in preference to a dime. 

Concepts of magnitude and value precede concepts of number. Number 
is not a property of objects, as is color or size, but is an abstract idea that is 
much more difficult to acquire than concepts of attribute or property. Since 
it is so much more difficult to acquire, the artificial helps supplied by the teacher 
must be selected upon some scientific basis if waste is not to occur. 

The first real concept of number is shown by the child’s instinctive desire 
to group objects or to divide them. This is his earliest effort to count. He does 
not say, “one, two, three, four, five, six, etc.,” but he first points to one object 
of a kind and then to another of the same kind. 

He has acquired through the sense of hearing a few words which represent 
number, but one number word suits his purpose as well as another, with his choice 
in favor of the easiest for him to speak. He has not yet acquired the real num¬ 
ber sense, but he has acquired the concept of individual things as being separate 



I +6 = ? 7—2”? 7 —.6”? 



332 


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from each other. He is unable to see why the fourth apple in a row of six apples 
should have a name different from that of the first apple or the sixth one. To 
him they all look alike; then why not call them all “one” or “six” ? Here is one 
place for the exercise of patience on the part of the mother. Grouping and count¬ 
ing form the beginnings which in time lead to such combinations as are shown 
in the drawing of groups of birds on page 331. 

While the act of counting is perhaps instinctive, it is chiefly through the lang¬ 
uage the child hears that he desires to group and separate objects and find terms 
to express the groups and the processes he has employed. His first process is 
that of the recognition of objects as one vague whole. His next process is that 
of separation of this whole into its component parts. His third and last process 
in counting is the recombining of what he has recognized as separates, or ones. 
The first step is observation, the second is analysis, and the third is synthesis. The 
child begins with a group and ends with a group—but the first group is a mere 
unit or mass; the second is composed of two or more ones of the same kind. 

The functions or uses of numbers are artificial, not natural, hence they in¬ 
volve abstract mental processes. The idea of number arises from a natural or 
instinctive desire to measure quantity, magnitude, distance. These concepts are 
developed through the child’s recurring experiences. He learns by experience 
that he cannot touch the moon, although he has repeatedly reached out his hand for 
it. He has learned by experience that one knife is worth more in a trade than 
another. He has learned by experience that value does not always depend upon 
weight or size. An “aggie” may not be any larger than a hundred other marbles 
he owns, but he will trade a handful of common clay marbles for one “aggie.” 
He does not know why, except that experience has taught him that this is the 
case. Thus the child develops the ideas of value and quantity. 



As we have indicated, real objects must be counted first—objects before 
symbols—but the child must be led to get away from this crutch as soon as it 
is expedient to do so. It is better to take the objects away too soon than to leave 
them too long; if he forgets they can be referred to at any time, but as soon 
as possible he should become independent of these aids. For fixing the number 






School Days 


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idea firmly, nothing is better than kindergarten blocks. Children enjoy playing 
with them, and they lend themselves admirably to the teaching of the fundamental 
processes. Kindergarten beads which come in cubes, spheres and cylinders are 
excellent for counting material. Children can arrange them in groups, string them 
on a cord, and use them in various other ways. 

In order to vary the work in visualization, the mother might make use of the 
child’s blackboard in the following ways: 

Draw a row of ten apples: 



Have them counted serially—one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 
ten. Count from right to left as well as from left to right, the latter being 
the usual method merely because we read and write from left to right. But we 
do not always find in actual experience that we count real objects in that way. 
We learn to count them when they are arranged in any order or in no order. 
Ask the child to count ten little “biddies” with the old hen—they are not likely 
to arrange themselves in a nice straight row for him to count. Let the mother 
draw a group of ten chicks in any order, and then in no order. These are to 
be counted by ones. Let her draw ten cats, or ten chairs or ten oranges, or ten 




boys, or ten houses. These need to be drawn only with a rapid stroke of the 
pencil. The child’s imagination will supply what the mother’s haste makes nec- 

/ 5 £\ 

an oa 




essary to omit in the way of details. Such drawings of familiar objects may be 
arranged as shown in the illustrations. 













































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In counting, it is always best at first to have real objects—all of a kind and 
as nearly uniform as may be. It is hardly possible to supply the children with 
much of a variety of objects. As soon as it can well be done, the mother should 
make the transition from the object to the picture or drawing. Here again, all 
the pictures must be alike. The mother should be able to draw quickly on the 



board a row of flags, houses, chairs, books, apples, pears or cats. These may be 
arranged for group-counting, and also for subtraction. 

The next step in this visualization in counting is to count the objects in groups. 
These pictures of ten oranges, or ten chicks, or ten kittens, or ten chairs, or ten 
flags, or ten pencils, should now be placed on the blackboard all in one group, 
without any special design as to arrangement. For example, a hen and ten 



chicks should be drawn in a natural grouping. The child should learn to count 
them in this group. The process is more difficult than counting in a straight 
row, but this orderless group is the natural formation. Let the child count by 








School Days 


335 


two’s in this group by placing two fingers on two chicks at a time, until the 
entire group has been counted. Draw a group showing ten eggs. Have him 
“pick these up,” two at a time, and count them. When the number twelve is 
the subject of drill, he should count the eggs by three’s also, then by three in each 
hand, as the grocer does. , 

Hand in hand with the counting of objects should go the writing of numbers. 

ARABIC NUMERALS 

As the child counts orally or mentally, he may be taught to make a straight 
mark for each picture counted. Thus, he counts a row of chairs and marks i, i, 

I, i, for each one counted. He is taught to write his marks close to each other, 

thus, | | | |. Then he may group those marks in this way: 

i ii 111 mi mu' Him mini ilium iiiimii 

one two three four five six seven eight nine 

1234567 8 9 

He should now learn to write these forms of expression on his tablet or on 
the blackboard, and he must be taught that they are merely three ways of writing 
the same thing. The mother should drill frequently on the visualization of the 

0123456789 

Naught One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight * Nine 
Arabic Numerals. 

words and symbols, skipping frequently from one to another as she points with a 
ruler or pointer to | |, three, 6, seven, | | | |, 5 > e * c * 

THE FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES 

From the first work with the objects the mother has been teaching addition, 
subtraction, multiplication and division. Now that the child is able to read and 
write numbers, the real work in these processes should begin. At first they should 
be worked out objectively; that is, the child should discover for himself by the 
aid of blocks, beads, pegs or other objects that 4+2=6. Later, these number 
facts need to be drilled upon each day, for they must be mastered before he is 
able to go on with the next step. If the mother asks the question, Four apples 




336 


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and three apples are how many apples?” and the child does not know, he should 
not be told, but should be given chalk and asked to make four apples and three 
apples on his blackboard and find out how many he has made. Bundles of kinder¬ 
garten sticks or toothpicks bound by rubber bands in bundles of ten are useful 
in teaching the combinations. Let him count out and band several tens, then 
propose the problem, “How much is ten and one more ?” 

Addition : Teach the child that— 

10+1=11; also that 10 

+1 

11 

If the child has learned to write the figures 1 to 10 he will instantly grasp 
the idea, and the sign + (meaning and ) will be taken almost for granted. If 
he questions, say simply that + is a brief way of writing and with figures. In 
a like manner, placing the splints each time in groups as suggested will show that 
10+2=12, 10+3=13, and so on, up to 20. 

As soon as the child can place the splints from 1 to 20, and can write and 
name each combination so far shown, he is ready to learn that “2 tens are 20,” 
up to “5 tens are 50.” 

So far, little emphasis will be placed upon the larger numbers but as they 
develop logically from the simpler combinations they may be taught whenever 
the child is ready for them, keeping in mind these cautions: 

1. Do not fail to drill thoroughly on the numbers from 1 to 10 and then 
from 10 to 20, before teaching the numbers from 20 to 50. 

2. Let the larger numbers come in answer to natural curiosity in the child, 
induced by his knowledge of the smaller numbers. 

3. Go slowly, but do not stress a familiar thing after interest and curiosity 
over that particular thing have faded. 

The child should be drilled on the following forty-five combinations until 
he knows them perfectly, and can read the sums at sight without this process 
of addition. This is not so difficult as the inexperienced mother might imagine. 





School Days 


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The ^child can just as unerringly learn to think “seven” when he sees “three” 
and “four,” as he can learn to say “you” when he sees “y-o-u.” But psychology 
teaches us, and experience enforces the doctrine, that the mind fatigues more 
quickly when thinking number symbols than when thinking sound symbols in 
spelling and reading. Hence, number drills should be brief but frequent. Each 
of these combinations should be written on a card. These cards may be used for 
games and drill. 

-JL_!_ 3 _ 4 _i_ 6 _ 7 _ 8_9 



8 

8 

9 

9 


8 

9 


Subtraction: This process can be taught hand in hand with addition. When 
a child realizes that 6+5=11, he can readily see that 11—6=5. 

, Multiplication : Here, of course, the child begins to learn the tables. He 
first works them out with objects, such as kindergarten sticks banded together 
with a rubber cord. When he discovers that 4 X 2 = 8, he is ready for drill 
on that until he knows it well. On page 338 is an illustration which the mother 
may use to show that multiplication is an easy way to add numbers. He is to find 
the sum of each column and the number in black type at the top indicates the num¬ 
ber of 2’s there are in the column. Similar tables are constructed for the 
3’s, 4’s, 5’s, 6’s, 7’s, 8’s and 9’s, as they are needed. 





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1 2 345 67 89 10 



These problems in multiplication should appear upon the set of number cards: 


I 

2 

3 

4 

X2 

X2 

X2 

X2 

I 

2 

3 

4 

xa 

xa 

xa 

xa 

1 

2 

3 


£4 

X4 

u 


1 

2 



X£ 




1 

2 



x6 

x6 




By the use of the cards it will be discovered that several of these problems 
are duplicates, hence the drills should be confined chiefly to 2 x 2, 2 x 3, 2 x 4, 
2 x 5, 2 x 6, 3 x 3, 3 x 4, 5 x 2—only eight problems. These should be read 
backward as well as forward: “Two times three, two times four, two times six, 
three times four,” etc., and then “three times two, four times two, five times two, 
six times two,” etc. There are but eight possible problems in multiplication up 
to a product of 12, when we eliminate the duplicates and those involving 1 as a 
multiplier. Even a child in a kindergarten knows that 3 is 3. 















School Days 


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The importance of this observation rests with the fact that the tedious process 
of memorizing all the tables is as unnecessary as it is unpedagogical. Another 
observation is that emphasis in instruction and drill should be given the more 
difficult steps and processes. If a child learns to recognize the eight products 
and their relations to the factors producing them, a long stride has been made 
toward a complete mastery of the multiplication “table” later. 

Division : The process of division should be taught in connection with multi¬ 
plication. Here, then, are the first problems on the division cards. They are 
read “two into two, one time; two into four, two times,” etc. 

Problems: The child now has an idea of the four fundamental processes, 
and to become valuable to him they must now be used in problems which are 
within his understanding and which make some sort of an appeal to him. The 
wise mother makes use of the home activities in formulating her problems. For 
instance, she says to the child, “We are going to have company for dinner to-night, 
and I would like to have you help me set the table. How many are there of us ? 
.Four. We are to have four extra to-night. For how many will we need to set 
the table? All will take coffee but two. How many cups will you need? We 
will set half of them on this side of the table. How many will that be?” Here 
is an application of the principles which is at once interesting and instructive. 
Hundreds of problems of this sort present themselves for solution each day. Why 
not let the child have a share in working them out ? 
















































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Give him a bank and a book in which to keep an account of money spent. 
He will soon learn to do this easily, and with it he will learn the relative value? 
of quarters, half dollars and dollars. 

Problems will be neither interesting nor clear if they contain material foreign 
to his experience. He will never have a clear conception of an acre of ground 
until he sees an acre—until he can experience by his vision what an acre looks 
like. A yard means nothing to him until he is shown a yard and is taught how 
to measure a line in yards. So with pints, quarts, ounces, pounds, pecks, bushels, 
etc.; the child must actually see the quantities measured out before he can thor¬ 
oughly understand the relation of one to the other. This only shows that number 
arises from quantitative measuring of real things. The child sees that one boy 
is taller than another. He feels number when he handles objects in counting them 
or when he uses the ruler in measuring lengths. Not only does the sense of 
touch reinforce the percepts gained through the sense of sight, but experience is 
necessary to fix these number relations in the nervous system; for unless his 
activities with number do finally result in a lodgment in his nervous system there 
can be no reaction, and when there is not reaction we may rest assured the child 
has not acquired. 

Fractions. The child will need to use the terms one-half, one-fourth, one- 
third, perhaps one-eighth, and so must be taught what they mean. This can best 
be accomplished by concrete illustrations in the home. The mother makes him a 
little pie for lunch. He is allowed to cut it himself and as he cuts it in two parts 
she tells him that each part is called one-half, and then she writes on his black¬ 



board. He now cuts the pie in fourths, and she explains that each part is called one- 
fourth, writing that also as she names it. 

With the aid of a round dish, some white paper and scissors, plus his mother’s 
help, the child cuts out several circles. She shows him how to fold the paper 
in half. He does that and cuts off one-half. This he pastes on a black card, 
writing y 2 underneath it. He proceeds in the same way with y, y, and y. 
These cards are placed around the room for future reference, and he knows 
the fractional parts better for having worked with them. 

The mother makes use of this new knowledge by asking him to cut his apple 
into fourths and to bring her one-third of the spoons in the box (when there are 















School Days 


341 




three in it.) She will ask, “How many halves in a whole?” “How many quar¬ 
ters in a half ?” etc. But his first work will consist in becoming acquainted with 
fractional parts, visualizing rather than computing them. 

THE CLOCK 

As a preparation for reading the clock face the Roman numerals to XII 
should be taught. The Roman numerals IV and VI, also IX and XI, are easy 
enough when the child is shown that IV means 5 less i; and VI means 5 plus 1. 
Also that IX means 10 less 1, and XI means 10 plus 1. There are only three 














342 


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symbols to learn at first, I, V and X. XX would be io plus io, of course, and 
XXX would be io plus io plus io. Further than that it is not advisable to go 
for the present. 

When the child has mastered the numbers, take the clock face and teach the 
hours. Show that from noon to supper is from twelve o’clock to six o’clock. 
He knows that, anyway, so it is merely a new form of expression. Then from 
supper to midnight, and from midnight to time to get up, will bring the larger 
hand around and around the face as many times as there are figures of hours 
to pass by. 

SPEED AND ACCURACY 

There are two things necessary in the manipulation of figures—speed and 
accuracy. The former would of course be of little value without the latter, but 
broadly speaking, it is the person who does a thing accurately and quickly who 
succeeds. The mother needs to have both of these in mind. As soon as the 
child knows the number facts he can be drilled for speed. For instance, if he 
is working on the forty-five combinations, referred to under “Addition” in this 
section, the mother will hold a watch and time him to see how well and how 
quickly he can say them. The number missed and the time should be recorded, 
and he should be encouraged to beat his own record. Or, he may be working on 
the table of fours in multiplication. This can be the basis of the same sort 
of game. Best of all, he will be getting this valuable knowledge in the form 
of play. 

Games will do much to fix visualization. For example, the game of dominoes 
may be used to good advantage to teach visualization in groups to 6 and 12; also 
in the addition of all possible combinations from o to 1, 1 and 1, 1 and 2, etc., 
to 6 and 6. The child apparently sees only the dots on this domino, but in 
reality he spells “ten” when he sees them. This process is very essential in 





• • 
• • 





© • 



• • 
• • 




V 
• • 




fixing the habit of seeing and spelling the word “ten” when he sees 6 and 4 
in any position, whether horizontal or vertical. He does not, or should not, say, 
“six and four are ten,” but the sight of the two numbers spells “ten” just as 



























School Days 


343 


t-e-n would mean “ten.” Of course, we do not here use the word “spell” in its 
usual sense; we mean the group of symbols visualized is promptly translated 
as “ten.” 

In addition to the usual domino game the dominoes may be used for number 
drill. , 

Bean Bag. Draw with chalk several circles within circles on the floor. If 
the child happens to be working on the table of fives, use that figure and its 
multiples as the circle values. If he is working on other tables, use those as a 
basis. If fives are used make the outer circle 5, the next io, the next 15 and 
the center 15. Stand a certain distance from the circles and throw the bean 
bag into the circle. If it falls within the 10 circle he will mark 10 on his black¬ 
board, etc. Let the child keep the score. 

The Top Game. An entertaining game may be made from an old checker¬ 
board, a top and a cube. Fit the board up with numbers cut from an old calendar. 
A light wooden cube, or a die, may easily be obtained. 

The top is made to spin in the middle of the square. A cube is dropped on 
the top, which throws it upon some square. The number on the square tells 



how much it counts. Thus, if the cube falls on the square 4 the first time and 
or 3 the next time, the total count is 7 on two throws. Take turns and keep score. 

The Indian Game. Draw a large circle of cardboard, then draw circles within 
the circle. Write different combinations in each circle, as 8 -f 6, 9 -j- 7, etc. 






















344 


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The child shoots with bow and arrow at the circle. His score will be the sum of 
the numbers within the circle he hits. 

The Marble Game. Cut holes in the bottom of a large pasteboard box such 
as is used by stores for the delivery of suits. Above each hole write such com¬ 
binations as 16-2, 18-8, etc. The child rolls marbles over this surface. His 
score is the number value of the hole into which the marble drops. Whoever 
first scores 150 wins the game. 

The Race. Have a race to see who can give the answers on these circles the 
most quickly. 

A box of toy money may be the next object to be introduced, and it opens 
up an endless vista of employment, entertainment and instruction. The first coins 
to be identified are the cent, the nickel and the dime. Show the toy money 
and then compare with real coins. If the child asks, he may be told the difference 
between “real” and “ toy” money. 

THE PLAY STORE 

Arithmetic is of but little value to an individual unless it teaches him how to 
solve his problems. The practical applications of arithmetic are of two kinds— 
the application of the fundamental operations to any problem growing out of 
one’s varied experiences, and the application of various measuring units to such 
concrete experiences. Arithmetic in its application is very largely a science of 
measurement as well as a science of computing numbers. At an early age the 
child should be taught how to measure. He may be taught the use of the foot 
rule and even of the yardstick. He may be taught, at least, how some things are 
weighed, how some others are measured in vessels, and others are measured 
with a ruler or yardstick. He may be taught how money is measured, for the 
values of the various coins represent measures. 

To aid in the teaching of this interesting subject, the home should have a 
play store with real articles in it, and with money as the medium of exchange. 
Children learn to go to the store to purchase bread, cakes, sugar, and various 
notions. They enjoy playing store. They like not only to go to this store and 
make the purchases, but they enjoy still more being storekeeper. There is more 
responsibility in this situation, and children enjoy responsibility. Why? Be¬ 
cause this is an attribute of adults, and children naturally enjoy the thought that 
they are almost grown up already, and should be learning how to do the things 
that grown-ups do. The store, of course, should be very simple and may be 
wholly make-believe. 

A small stock of objects will do to begin with, such as bits of ribbon, nuts, 
apples, pieces of cloth, books, or the child may use his own toys. If he desires 



School Days 


345 


a change, he can very easily make a grocery store by using his mother’s empty 
cans and packages. Scissors, paste and the advertising pages of papers and 
magazines will aid him in this. , 

At first, children should be taught to make change in purchases up to ten 
cents. The child should be started right by being taught to count from the 
amount of the purchase to the amount of money used in the transaction, thus: 
A child buys a pencil costing three cents. In how many and what ways could 
he pay the amount? If he has pennies, how many will it require? If he has a 
nickel, how much change should he receive from the store? If he has a dime, 
in what form may he receive his change, and how much? Frequent concrete 
exercises will be needed, but such exercises are looked forward to with delight 
by the child. 

CONCLUSION 

In this article no attempt has been made to impose artificial barriers of age 
or grade, such as a declaration that a child should know the multiplication tables 
at the age of seven or solve problems in long division when he is in Grade IV. 
The schools, because they handle such large numbers of children, are forced to 
set standards of attainment for each grade. These in a sense include specific age, 
because of the provision of law affecting the child’s entrance into his school life. 

The mother in the home is not dealing with groups, but with the individual. 
Her problem is not to cover a certain amount of work in a prescribed time, but 
to proceed as rapidly as the ability of her child will permit. Because this ability 
differs in individuals, no standards of comparison should be attempted. 

Mothers, all of this work outlined means time, patience, study, blended with 
understanding. But it is worth it. One day there came to you the most won¬ 
derful experience that ever comes to human beings, and you found yourself 
with a little baby in your arms. And as you looked at him through your happy 
tears you knew that all the dreams you had so long dreamed for yourself you 
now wanted to come true in the life of that baby, and you felt that no effort 
would be too great to bring it about. So you will be amply repaid for all the time 
and effort you spend in training him in these fundamentals by a realization that 
your activities have played a big part in helping him to understand, to appreciate, 
and more fully to enter into that wonderful experience called life. 




346 


The Foundation Library 


The TMhaking of T)oll Qlothes 


Bertha M. White. 


OU all remember, I am sure, some picture of a little girl in pantalets sitting 



at the feet of her full-skirted mother and painfully pushing a needle in and 


out, in and out, of a long, long seam. It was a picture of home life many 
years ago. Every little girl of that time had to start in early learning her stitches, 
for she had a whole lifetime of sewing before her. There were no sewing machines 
then, for the time was nearly one hundred years ago, and sheets and pillowcases, 
tablecloths and napkins, towels, curtains, etc., to say nothing of dresses, underwear, 
fine-pleated or ruffled shirts for men of the family, maybe even their suits, had to 
be made by this little girl when she grew to womanhood. 

So she began early, and practised every day; she learned every kind of stitch, 
and then she made a sampler. Perhaps you have one in your house, belonging, 
to a great-great-grandmother. The little girl usually stitched all the letters of the 
alphabet, the numbers up to 10, maybe the design of a house and tree, her 
own name and age, and the date—all in the most beautiful stitches she could 
manage. Then her mother would boast of her to the neighbors, but never in the 
little girl’s hearing; for now little daughter had proved herself diligent and dutiful, 
a credit to her family. 

When the sewing machine was invented and factories began making clothes, 
little girls stopped making samplers, and some very unwise ones stopped learning 
to sew. I suppose the poor women were so glad to be rid of long seams that had 
to be sewed when a good story book or the beautiful out-of-doors was calling 
them, that they just threw up their hands and said, “Never again!” or some 
thing similar. But now the women realize that, even with the stores full of 
ready-made clothes, lots of sewing must be done. We must all mend and darn, 
if we are going to be neat, attractive persons. And if we are going to have 
pretty garments out of little money, we must be able to cut, baste, fit, sew and 
trim them. Now that the tiresome part of sewing has been done away with by 
the sewing machine, we get real joy from seeing pretty, useful things shape 
themselves under our hands. There is no joy equal to that of being able to do 
things, and do them well. There is no slavery like being helpless before such 
problems of every-day life as cooking our food, making our clothes and taking 
care of ourselves in every way. 

It is because we wish to be independent and to have the joy of “creating,” that 
we are going to learn the stitches and how to use them on clothes and house- 
linens. Suppose we get some unbleached muslin, a pretty, cheap, cream-colored 




School Days 


347 


cotton goods that is used now for everything from sheets and curtains to aprons 
and dresses. We’ll provide ourselves also with some stout thread for basting, 
some finer white thread for sewing, a medium-sized needle, a thimble and 
some scissors. 

Now let us thread our needles and knot the thread. Do you remember the 
successful tailor in the fairy tale who always remembered the knot? Then we 
cut four oblongs, 5 inches by 8 inches, from our muslin, and learn the first stitch 
shown on the large chart panel, the basting stitch. We fit one oblong over another 
and baste the two together on one long side. We hold the two pieces in our left 
hand, the edges to be sewed lying over the left forefinger. We begin at the right, 
a half-inch below the edge, stick our needle in and out of the goods, spacing the 
stitches as evenly as possible and push ahead to the left. We may make the stitches 
long on one side and short on the other, if we choose; the main thing is to have 
the basting an even, straight line, for it is meant to be a guide line in sewing. We 
may now baste the other two oblongs together in the same fashion, and then we 
shall try the next stitch. 

Let us thread our needles with the sewing thread, and knot it. This time we 
put in running stitches that will stay when we have pulled out the basting threads, 
or guide line. We make the running stitches exactly the same way as we did the 
even basting stitches, but we make them a good deal smaller, as the chart shows, 
and we fasten our stitching at the end of the seam by sewing two or three stitches 
over each other. The line of running stitches must be put in just below the line 
of basting stitches. Now we have the two pieces sewed firmly together, much as 
the machine would sew them; so we can spread open our pieces, flatten out the 
seam, and press it. We sew the other two pieces together in just the same way. 

Now the idea strikes us that another seam, joining our two pieces of patch- 
work will make them into the top of a doll’s bed quilt! We’ll baste this long 
seam, of course, but instead of using the running stitch, we will try one that is 
firmer and much harder to pull out, although it is also much slower. That is 
the backstitch. We make one running stitch; then instead of moving the needle 
forward we move it backward, sticking it into the goods just about where it came 
out in that first stitch. Then we move the needle forward twice the length of the 
backstitch, pull it through, and backstitch again. On the side towards us the 
stitching will look like a continuous line; on the other side there will be two lines. 
If we decided to practice the half backstitch on the last half of the seam, we would 
merely backstitch only half-way toward the end of the last running stitch instead 
of backstitching the whole way. This will make our quilt have a very firm seam 
in the middle. We shall now use the backstitch after every third or fourth run¬ 
ning stitch, when we are sewing seams, for the sake of firmness. 




348 


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School Days 


349 


We haven’t by any means finished with our running stitch. Now-a-days we 
use it for outline embroidery. We are going to embroider our quilt top. With 
a tumbler we will trace a circle in the middle of each patch, and then scallop the 
circle prettily into a sort of rose design, as shown in the figure. With blue or 
pink cotton floss or wool yarn, we will outline this easy design in the running 
stitch. Then we shall have had a good deal of practice in that important stitch, 
with a pretty quilt top as our reward. There are any number of designs we might 
outline this way on bibs, towels, aprons, dresses, collars and cuffs. The charts 
on kites and flowers could give us some fine ideas for designs. 

We shall now cut a piece of muslin exactly the size of our quilt top, and a 
thin layer of cotton batting a quarter-inch smaller all around. We turn in the 
edge of the quilt top and of the under-piece, put the two together with the cotton 
in between, baste carefully, and then use a new stitch for sewing the edges of the 
quilt together. That is the overhand stitch, shown on the chart; it is used always 
for sewing two edges together on the right side. We hold the edges evenly and 
firmly before us, between the thumb and forefinger, catch the two thicknesses with 
small but firm stitches, from back to front, slanting the needle from right to left. 
We might do it in the colored thread we used for the rose design. All we have to 
do after that is to “tie” our quilt; that is, to take one stitch with the colored thread 
quite through the quilt, every few 
inches down the seams, tying each 
stitch on top in a nice little knot with 
ends. And here we have a really use¬ 
ful sampler, with all the important 
stitches but one. 

The important stitch is the hem¬ 
ming stitch, which we use in table 
cloths, napkins, collars, dresses, etc., 
wherever we have to turn in a raw 
edge to make one that will not ravel 
but look finished. An easy method 
is shown on the chart, and we would 
better try it on a piece of muslin, 
which creases easily. We fold 
the edge over one-fourth inch, then 
over again a half-inch, crease, and 
baste. We hold the hem firmly over 
our left forefinger, and take the first 

stitch to hide the knot under the hem. The Bed-quilt Design 


























































350 


The Foundation Library 


We point the needle upward at a slant, 
bringing it through two or three 
threads of the material under the fold, 
then through the edge of the fold. 

There will be little slant stitches on 
the seam side, and almost invisible ones 
on the other. We shall have to prac¬ 
tice this stitch around two or three 
practice squares before we shall do it 
to our satisfaction. 

Then we are ready to finish our 
doll’s bedding. We must remember 
that the sheets must be cut longer and 
wider than the bed, to allow for the 
hems and for tucking in. There must be an inch hem at the top of the sheet and 
quarter-inch hems for the other three sides. When we have hemmed two 
such sheets, we shall probably be able to make much more even and fine 
stitches than when we started. Here is a case where practice makes perfect. 

Having made dolly’s bedclothes, we might now start on her clothing. A petti¬ 
coat is very easily made. We hem the lower edge of a straight piece of goods, 
the length of dolly from her waist to her dress hem, and wide enough to go 
twice around her waist. We could also overhand a little lace on the edge of the 
hem. Then we gather the top of the goods, using a loose running stitch and a 
double thread, and pushing the cloth back on the thread. 

i We have on hand a narrow strip of the goods, a little longer than dolly’s waist 
measure. The lower edge of that we fold up a quarter inch and crease. We fit the 
gathered edge on that fold and then baste; then we turn in the top edge of the waist 
band a quarter inch, fold the band down so that the turned-in edge rests on 
top of the gathers and is even with the under side of the band. Then we baste 
and stitch; now all we need to do is to sew up a back seam in our petticoat, stop¬ 
ping about an inch from the band to allow for the placket. We shall make the 
simplest placket by just hemming carefully the two raw edges left. The fastening 
of the petticoat can be strings or snappers. If the petticoat is too long, or if 
we wish it trimmed, we can put in tucks with a small running stitch. The easiest 
way to make tucks equally distant is to measure with a marked cardboard the 
distance from the edge of one tuck to the edge of the other, crease, baste and 
sew the right distance from the edge of the tuck. 

The two figures show how we can cut out an underwaist for dolly, and some 
panties. We shall cut some patterns out of paper first. Let us take note that 















School Days 


351 





we fold the paper or the goods lengthwise so that we cut the two sides at the 
same time. There will be no seam in the front of either the waist or the panties, 
but we shall have to cut through the fold in the center back for the opening in 
the waist, and for the placket of the panties. We shall have to sew side seams 
in both garments, hem the neck, the armholes and the lower part of the waist, 
sew leg seams and side seams in the panties, hem the legs, gather the top and put 
on a band. 

Now as we are able to do our work a little better, we are becoming dissatisfied 
with the raw edges of the seams we make with a simple running stitch. Of 
course we can overcast them, a coarse form of overhanding, as shown in the 
figure, but that is really done only on heavy wool or silk goods. We prefer to 
learn how to make the two neat seams that are called French and felled seams. 
We use those on all the nice underwear and pretty waists. The French seam 


















352 


The Foundation Library 




is simple and quick; it is really two seams, one inside the other. We sew the first 
<one on the right side of the goods with the running stitch. Then we open the 
two edges flat, trim and smooth them, turn the seams over, and on the wrong side 
make a new seam right over the first one. This one we backstitch; the seam 
shows no raw edges. Neither does the felled seam, which has the added value 
of lying flat. It is also a doubly-sewed seam. First we baste the two edges 
together as for an ordinary seam. Then we cut off the edge of one seam side so 
that it lies a little below the edge of the other, spread out the goods, turn in the 
wider edge a little and turn it over the narrow raw edge, baste it and hem it. 
That, too, is a fine hem for underwear and shirts and waists. 

We have also discovered that in order to make neat garments for dolly, we 
must learn how to make button holes and sew on buttons. Buttons are easy, 
the chart telling the story. That pin over which we stitch our buttons on is to 
make the button sit so high on its twist of thread that the button hole will fit 
over it without drawing. 

Buttonholes are a test of real skill, and must be practised very often. When 



















School Days 


353 


we have cut the slit for the buttonhole, we either overcast the edges or lay a 
couple of long stitches below either edge, in order to strengthen them. Then we 
use the buttonhole stitch, which is as follows: the needle goes in from the back, 
below the edge and is pulled through then the thread is thrown in a loop from 
right to left, the needle being brought over the top of the loop, back of the button¬ 
hole edge, and through. This is continued, and a smooth edge that looks like 
crochet is formed. We are very fond of this edge for doilies and embroidery of 
all kinds. 

When we have mastered these stitches, there is no end to the clothes we can 
make and the embroidery we can/ put on them. We can make pleats instead of 
gather in our petticoat-pattern, 
and have a sport skirt for dolly. 

If we put some short sleeves in 
the underwaist it will be a fine 
guimpe for a sleeveless dress, 

The dress itself is so very 
easy, too. Here is that ever- 
useful kimona pattern, so de¬ 
lightful to cut and with only 
two seams to stitch. We can 
have sleeves in it, or not; 
without sleeves it will make an 
apron or overdress; with 
sleeves it will make a complete 
dress. We can cut it off short, 
without sleeves, for a chemise; 
long, with sleeves, for a night¬ 
gown. We can cut it up the 
back for buttons and button¬ 
holes, pleat it, put a belt on it, 
or trim it with bands, tucks, 
lace, embroidery, etc., for 
pretty dresses. Dolly can soon 
have a full trunkful of clothes. 






























































































354 


The Foundation Library 


The Story of ‘Birds 

Bertha M. White. 


T HE most beautiful ornaments of this wonderful land of ours are the flowers 
and the birds. “Flowers are words which even a babe can understand,” 
said a wise man. Even more dear to us are the birds, 

“Whose household words are songs in many keys, 

Sweeter than instrument of man e’er caught;” 

for the most cheerful thing out of doors is a dainty bird pouring from its throat 
its glad, light-hearted song. 

If we ask you, “What is a bird?” you will tell us that it is an animal with 
feathers, and an animal which flies. Your first answer is quite right, but your 
second is not wholly true, because bats fly, and the bat is not a bird; also there 
are flying squirrels and flying fishes, which of course look not at all like the birds. 
Then, too, there are some birds which cannot fly; among these are the ostrich, 
with its long neck and long legs, and the penguin, a strange bird that walks 
upright on strong, short “flappers” that look like feet and that balances himself by 
waving other wing-like growths on its sides. The home of the ostrich is in 
the desert and of the penguin in the cold regions near the South Pole. There 
are other strange birds, also, that cannot fly. Of these you will probably learn 
something when you grow older. 

Already we have learned from these two birds last named that the bird 
family is scattered all over the world. You cannot go anywhere on the surface 
of the earth where they cannot be found, and no matter how far you are able 

to travel you may be surprised to know that most of them travel every year 

very much farther in single trips than man can possibly go, and very much faster, 
too. We shall tell you more about this later on. 

Their Song. Birds delight us by the beauty of their colored feathers, but 

even more by their song. Their colors please the eye, but even when they cannot 

be seen their song is a constant delight. Did you know that there are many 
kinds of birds that do not sing, but merely chirp ? And that some of the plainest 
ones, those that really are not beautiful to look at, are the sweetest singers? 
Which would you prefer to have live in your yard—a bird of the most beautiful 
color that has no song or a little dark creature who could fill all the air around 
with a glorious melody? 

Where does the song come from? Your voice comes from a voice box called 
the larynx (pronounced lahr inks), and your tongue helps to form the sounds 
you utter. It is not so with the birds. Their tone comes from a special little 




School Days 


355 


organ in the throat called the syrinx (pronounced almost as though spelled seer 
ingks). It is the most wonderful music box in all the world. 

You have noticed how loudly a little bird can sing. Just imagine how far 
you could be heard if your voice was as loud, compared to your size, as a bird’s is! 

What Birds Eat. Some farmers do not like a good many of the birds 
because they eat growing crops and fruit. They see the damage done by the 
birds, but they do not always see that these same birds more than pay the 
farmer for all they destroy. There are more than 300,000 kinds of insects; not 
all of these varieties live in America, but thousands of them are found on every 
farm, and many are very injurious to crops. Without the birds many crops would 
be ruined each year. There are some kinds of caterpillars that in twenty-four 
hours eat more than a hundred times their own weight in food; one scarlet 
tanager, a beautiful red bird, has been known in eighteen minutes to eat 630 
caterpillars. The tanagers eat a little fruit, but do you not think they earn it? 
There may be a million plant lice on a single tree; the birds destroy thousands 
of these in a single day. Army worms are dreaded by the farmers, and so are 
tussock moths and many small beetles, like potato bugs; birds eat these by the 
million; if they did not, our crops would not be half as large as they are. 

The rose-breasted grosbeak eats so many potato bugs that in some sections it 
is called the “potato-bug bird.” One pair of brown thrashers will destroy 60,000 
insects in one season; a dozen pairs of wrens and their young in a season will 
eat fully one hundred twenty-five pounds of insects. Can people not afford 
to lose a few cherries and other fruit in exchange for the constant warfare of 
the birds against these insect pests? 

The stories about the quantity of food a bird eats may seem to you like fairy 
tales, but they are true. You have noticed that birds are always active—always 
flying or hopping about. You know that when you play hard you get very 
hungry. Birds are always hungry because of their constant activity, and their 
great problem is to keep supplied with food. Then, too, when the baby birds 
are hatched—from two to five in a nest—there are more hungry mouths to feed. 
Little birds grow very rapidly, and so they require a great deal to eat. Have 
you ever watched the mother and father birds feeding their young ? Does it appear 
that the little ones ever get enough to eat? The heads of a bird family are about 
the busiest things out of doors until their young are able to hunt their own food. 

When you were a baby your father and mother protected you with loving 
care. Bird parents show just the same attention to their little ones. They are 
tireless in bringing to them the almost unbelievable amount of food they require; 
they watch over them while they are helpless, and protect them even at the 
risk of their lives from all bird enemies; they keep the naked little bodies warm 




356 


The Foundation Library 


until they are covered with feathers, and when grown strong enough they teach 
them to fly. Within a few weeks the little ones are on the wing, and soon they 
begin to prepare homes of their own. Some kinds of birds will raise four broods 
of little ones in a season. 

Their Nests. There are a few birds which do not build nests for them¬ 
selves and their mates; two of the most important of them are the cowbird and 



Varieties of Nests 


I. 

Baltimore Oriole 

5- 

Wren 

2. 

Humming Bird 

6. 

Scarlet Tanager 

3 . 

Robin 

7- 

Red-Winged Blackbird 

4- 

Goldfinch 

8. 

Chimney Swift 


one species of the cuckoo. The European cuckoo is not a bird you will like 
when you learn a little about it. It has no home; it will lay its eggs on the 














School Days 


357 


ground and then carry them to the nests of other birds and expect the owners 
of those nests to hatch the eggs and feed the young when they hatch. It never 
deposits more than one egg in a nest; it thinks the owner will not notice one extra 
egg. The cowbird is like the cuckoo. It will not rear its own young; like the 
cuckoo of Europe it puts its eggs in the nests of other birds. Most birds will! 
allow the cowbird’s egg to remain in the nest and will hatch it, but later on in 
this story you will learn what the yellow warbler does to prevent being imposed 
upon. 

All other birds build nests for their families. Some of these are soft and 
downy, being made of grasses and lined with feathers, little bits of cloth or 
down, while others are rough and coarse, constructed with sticks and stones and 
built high on rocks where enemies cannot reach them. The penguin lays its 
eggs on bare rocks. The only nest of the ostrich is a hole dug in the warm sand, 
where the heat of the sun hatches the eggs. One of the most carefully built 
nests is that of the oriole. It is from six to eight inches in length and is swung 
from a tree branch which is well protected with foliage. The oriole is a careful 
builder; it uses grass, string, hair, strips of bark, etc. Not all nests are made 
of the materials we have named. Some birds, among them the swallow, build 
of mud or clay; others, like the kingfisher, build tunnels into the bank of river 
or lake, with an opening near the water, and lay their eggs deep away from sight. 

Many birds return to the same nest a second year, while others, like the robin, 
may keep their homes only long enough to rear one brood of little ones and 
then abandon it. 

Bird Houses. If you ever built a bird house in your yard and painted it 
nice and bright in red, yellow, green, white, etc., you probably wondered why the 
birds would not make it their home. Here is the reason: They did not like your 
bright-colored paint. They prefer dark colors, as near as possible to the color 
of the bark of the trees. If you will build your bird house in the fall and stain 
it a dark brown color by spring it will lose its newness and appear weather worn; 
then some of the earliest birds to come back for the summer will take possession 
of it. 

A house should be about six by eight inches in size at the base and ten inches 
or a foot in height, with an entrance only large enough to admit the birds. For 
wrens, do not make the door large enough for the English sparrow to enter, 
for it may drive out the little wrens. Do not make it possible for cats or 
squirrels to climb up to the bird house, for they will try to catch the young birds. 
Set the house on a pole, where there is shade, and around the bottom of the 
pole put a wide piece of tin, to prevent any animal from climbing. 

Bird Enemies. We have told you about the millions of insect enemies of 



358 


The Foundation Library 


/ " J 

_ A* 

N 

- 

* 

c 

- > 

r\ 

k 


Fig. I. Back 


Bird House Made from 3 /&" Vhite*Wood. Cut the 
51 x pieces as shown in the first five drawings, also a 
round perch. After fastening 





-7- 

pieces together 

I 






paint and 



: p- 



decorate as 

vy ; 






indicated 

i .4".j-4 


4*.4".:■» 


i—Afc'- j- . -5 





9 i 





vQ 




k 


<--4*--;.h 





9 


k 

'l' 


J:=L 


i 


rO 


Fig.2. Front Fig.3. Sides Fig.4. Roof Fig.5. Bottom 



HOUSES THAT PLEASE THE BIRDS 
































































School Days 


359 


man that the birds destroy every year. There is another side to this story of 
destruction, for just as birds prey upon insect life, so larger animals make victims 
of the birds. A man who has studied birds all his life and knows what he is 
talking about says that every cat kills an average of fifty birds a year, but cats 
are not their worst enemy. Birds have most to fear from human beings—men 
and boys. Is this hard to believe? It is true, for men shoot birds, many of 
them for food and many just to satisfy their desire for what they call sport; 
and boys, we are sorry to say, try to hit them with air guns, slingshots, stones, 
etc. You never knew a girl who would injure these cheerful, singing feathered 
friends of ours; boys should follow such good examples. 

Next to men and boys, cats and squirrels, the birds suffer from heavy 
storms and cold, accidents, snakes and other animals, such as skunks and weasels. 

Bird Migrations. Where do birds go during the cold northern winters? 
You have noticed that about the same time early every autumn you miss their 
cheerful songs, and soon after the first of October only a very few are to be 
seen. The junco, or snowbird, the tree sparrow, the brown creeper and a very 
few others are bold enough to stay with us all winter. (Do you throw crumbs 
to them when the ground is covered with snow? If you do, they will be regular 
visitors to your door.) All others disappear. They do not leave us merely on 
account of cold weather, for we know some birds stay north all winter; they 
migrate largely for the reason that they must go where food is plentiful. Most 
of them would starve to death during the cold months in the north. When 
they return from their southern winter homes you will notice they are strong 
and fresh from abundant feeding in the tropics. 

Many of the birds are with us all summer, and you are acquainted with the 
commonest of these. There are others which pass us by every spring and go 
far north into Canada to spend the summer around Hudson Bay and near the 
Arctic Ocean. All of the local birds and those from the far north take wing 
in the fall and fly straight to a warm climate. Many stop aroung the Gulf of 
Mexico, others stay in Mexico, but the great majority fly into the northern part 
of South America, many species even crossing the equator and wintering south 
of the Amazon River. One bird, the yellowleg, is among the greatest travelers 
of them all. During the summer he enjoys the climate of Northern Canada; 
when he is warned away by the approach of frost he flies 8,000 miles, to spend 
the winter down in Argentina, in the southern part of the South American 
continent. In the spring he starts back on the return trip of 8,000 miles; sol 
this little fellow travels 16,000 miles a year on his migration. Snipe and plover 
breed near the Arctic Circle and in the fall they, too, go to the southern end of 
South America. 



360 


The Foundation Library 


On their trips south in the fall 
most birds are not noticed in their 
flight; some fly very high, and others 
go in small groups—even singly; 
some species are night-fliers. You 
can, however, note the flight of the 
ducks and their peculiar formation 
as they fly—in the shape of a great 
wedge, with the leader in front. 
Very few birds fly continually in 
their migration. They often stop for 
days or weeks on the way, feeding 
wherever they find anything inviting. 
For instance, the bobolinks stay for 
weeks in the ricefields of South Caro¬ 
lina, where they are disliked and are 
called ricebirds. However, some 
birds, like the golden plover, start 1 on 
a flight from Nova Scotia over the 
Atlantic Ocean and for many hun¬ 
dreds of miles remain on the wing, 
resting only on the West Indies islands before reaching the shores of Brazil. 

When they return north in the spring, birds will repay watching. If you 
will keep a record you will find that some species will be seen in the trees in your 
yard during the same week year after year, and that some of them may fly straight 
back thousands of miles to the same nests they occupied the year before. 

BIRDS YOU OUGHT TO KNOW 

On our colored chart are a dozen pictures of birds about which every boy 
and girl should know. We shall tell you many things about them here; will 
you not try to learn more from father and mother or from your teacher or other 
older friends? Birds should interest you all your life. 

When we go for a walk, we enjoy it more if we know the people we meet. 
So we shall enjoy the outdoors more if we know the birds we see and can 
recognize their songs and calls. 

The Robin. The robin is one of the best known and best loved birds. 
When we hear his cheerful song some morning in early spring, we hasten to 
the window to see him. We feel more certain that spring is really here, when 
we find him on our lawn.- 










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He runs along the ground, stops and listens with his head cocked on one side, 
runs again, makes a sudden dive with his bill, tosses the dirt up, keeps working 
and tossing and soon he is tugging and pulling at an angle-worm which he has 
part way out of the ground. How did he know the angle-worm was there? 
I do not know. I saw one pull so hard that the worm came in two and the 
robin stumbled backward. He seemed a very surprised bird. 

Even the best of birds may have some faults. Some folks say that the robin 
steals their cherries. Those folks do not know that if the robin had not been 
protecting our cherries all the spring by killing the bugs and worms on the 
tree, there would be no cherries for anyone. He probably thinks he has a right 
to some of the fruit he saved; do you think he earned it? Robins are very 
fond of mulberries; if we plant a mulberry tree, the robin will eat fewer cherries. 
They live mostly on insects and wild fruit. 

In the Northern states we are very fond of the robin and he is protected 
by law. When he has finished raising his family here, he goes south to spend 
the winter. Instead of living about the homes and cheering people with his 
song, he stays back in the woods, stuffing himself with rich, druggy berries. In 
some states where they are not appreciated robins are killed for food. Do you 
not hope they will grow fond of him as we are and pass laws to protect him ? 

The robin is ten inches long, dull brown in color, with a bright red-brown 
or russet breast. The male has a black head. The female has a gray head and 
a paler breast. The young robins have a breast spotted with black. Notice the 
flecked or speckled throat on all of them. That is the mark of the thrush family, 
to which robins belong. 

Robins are not much afraid of people, and often they build their nests near 
houses. One built its nest over the door of our house; one built on a hayrake 
that stood in the barnyard. Do you know what robins use to make nests? It 
is made of mud and grass, so it isn’t a very handsome nest. They usually 
build on a horizontal branch or in the fork of a tree often quite low down. 
Like many other birds, the mamma robin likes to build the nest herself. You] 
see she has to sit in it, so she knows just how she wants it. Anyway, both birds 
bring material for the nest, but if papa robin tries to lay it in place, the mother 
bird becomes very angry and flies at him and drives him out, just as though 
he had no business there. 

In the nest the mother bird lays four or five blue-green eggs, and in a few 
weeks the baby robins, big-mouthed and hungry, are hatched. Have you watched 
the old robins push the little ones out when it is time for them to learn to fly? 
Often the nest is abandoned as soon as the young have become independent. 

While robin is a very peaceable bird, one writer says it can “scare an English 
sparrow with one flirt of its tail.” 



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The Bluebird. The bluebird arrives with the martins and the pussy-willows 
frequently ahead of the robin, sometimes as early as the third week in February. 
We like him because he is so friendly, sings so cheerily and sweetly, and because 
he looks like a bit of the blue spring sky. 

Lowell calls him an “April poem that God has dowered with wings.” One 
writer says it seems— 

“When ’mid the budding elms the bluebird flies, 

As if a bit of sky had taken wings.” 

The male birds, like the males of most bird families, arrive a week or even 
ten days ahead of the females. There may be deep snow after these first birds 
come. It is a good idea to scatter some crumbs every day; that will keep these 
early visitors from starving and help persuade them to stay and build in dur yard. 

Bluebirds like to be near folks. They will nest in the orchard or garden, ar 
in houses put up for them. Unfortunately the bluebird and English sparrow are 
about the same size, and the sparrows often take possession of the houses put 
up for bluebirds. If it is a very desirable location, the bluebirds may fight the 
sparrows and, unless there are too many of them, drive them away. 

Watch them when they are building their nest and you will see that the 
male bird brings material and waits outside the box until the mother bird comes 
out. Then he goes in and lays it in place. Probably she lays it over to suit 
herself after he has gone. 

The nest is lined with grass. There are four or five pale bluish eggs. 

The bluebird’s call is a short, sweet warble, and the song is the warbling 
continued. Do you know the verses, “I know the song that the bluebird is 
singing”? Perhaps you sing them at school: 

“I know the song that the bluebird is singing, 

Up in the apple tree where he is swinging. 

Brave little fellow, the skies may be dreary, 

Nothing cares he while his heart is so cherry. 

Hark! How the music leaps out of his throat! 

Hark! Was there ever so merry a note? 

Listen a while and you’ll hear what he’s saying, 

Up in the, apple tree swinging and swaying, 

’Daffodil! Daffodil!’ Say, do you hear ? 

Summer is coming and springtime is here!” 

The whole seven inches of him fairly bubbles over with joy. 

The Yellow Warbler. There are some thirty varieties of warblers in the 
United States, most of which winter in South America or Cuba and nest as 




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far north as Canada. Some few of them, among them the yellow, stay with 
us through the summer and raise their families here. The others travel in 
flocks, passing north in May and returning south in September. One morning 
in the fall you may go out and see a great many of them; the next morning 
there may be none at all. 

The male yellow warbler has chestnut streaks on the sides; the female is 
duller and without the streaks. They appear in early May and, darting after 
insects, look like a gleam of sunshine. 

The nest is made of plant fibers quilted together, and is fastened to upright 
forks of bushes or trees, usually quite low down. All warblers lay four to 
six white eggs, and with the exception of the Swainson warbler, which nests 
in the Southern states, the eggs are spotted with brown and chesnut blotches. 

Warblers eat plant lice, leaf hoppers and all sorts of leaf worms, picking 
them from the leaves of trees and shrubs. A few warblers catch their food on 
the wing. The oven-bird is a warbler which nests on the ground. The yellow¬ 
breasted chat and the black and white creeper are warblers. Have you seen 
the creeper creeping around tree trunks hunting insects ? Unless you look 
carefully you might mistake the yellow warbler for a goldfinch, but the gold¬ 
finch has black wings and tail and a black topknot. 

One of the most interesting things about the warbler is the way it outwits 
the cowbird. The cowbird is related to the blackbirds and is a bird tramp, lazy 
and without a home. It deposits its eggs in the nests of any small bird. The 
young cowbird will be larger and stronger than the little birds in whose home 
it is, and so will be able to get most of the food brought by the parent birds. 
The birds which really belong in the nest are crowded out or nearly starved. 
Young cowbirds do not learn to take care of themselves as early as most 
young birds do, so the parent birds are kept feeding the interloper so long that 
often they do not have time to raise a second brood. 

The yellow warbler has no notion of being imposed on in that way. So when 
she comes home and finds a large cowbird egg among her own she simply builds 
another bottom in the nest, covering the cowbird egg. Then she lays fresh 
eggs of her own. If a cowbird lays another egg with these, the parent bird 
will make another partition. Sometimes she makes as many as three. How 
do you suppose she knows that that egg will hatch into a big greedy bird that 
will take the food from the rightful owners of the nest? 

The warbler’s song is only a warble, hardly a song at all. Its call is a sharp 
“Che-wee, che-wee che-wee.” This warbler is sometimes called the “yellow bird.” 
It winters in Central America, and is a small bird to travel that long distance. 

The Red-Winged Blackbird. Early in March, before the oriole arrives, 




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you may hear “O-ka-lee,” or “Conk-err-ee,” as it sounds to some people. Then 
you know that the red-winged blackbird is with us again. The male is a 
brilliant black, with shoulders of scarlet and buff; the female is a brownish-black 
above and streaked below. He is quite dashing looking; she is quite plain. 
They are about nine inches long. 

Blackbirds are sociable birds, and live in colonies and travel in flocks. Some¬ 
times they gather in the trees and hold a concert, singing with all their hearts 
a chorus of liquid sound. 

Half of the blackbirds’ food is weed seed, one-fourth beetles, grasshoppers 
and other insects. Red-wing also eats army worms, wasps, flies, spiders and 
bugs, and when he is migrating in the spring and fall he may eat a small amount 
of grain. 

It is a pretty sight to see the flocks go by, especially in the fall. Did you 
ever try to count how many you could see? Sometimes a stretch of sky is 
fairly black with them, and how they sing as they fly! 

The nest of redwing is well-woven of grass and rushes, and partially sus¬ 
pended from the rim. Redwing is a cousin of the Baltimore oriole. In the nest 
are four or five light blue eggs, marked with purplish-black. 

Other members of the family are the meadow lark, grackle, yellow-headed 
blackbird and bobolink. The grackles strut about so dignified and lordly that 
it is fascinating to watch them. The purple grackle is especially brilliant, com¬ 
bining violet, purple, green, and steel-blue in his coloring on neck and wings. 

The yellow-head is found on the western plains and seldom seen in the cen¬ 
tral states. His head, neck, breast and throat are bright orange-yellow. Some¬ 
one called him: 


“Fire-bearer of the gods, blue-black, 

With flecks of sunshine on thy back.” 

The Wren. The wren is often called a saucy bird, because it holds its 
tail erect and flirts it so impudently. The wren is smaller than the English 
sparrow, measuring four and three-quarters inches. It is brown above, light 
brown or dull gray below, with tail, wings and flanks barred. 

Wrens like to build near the house, and will use any house put up for them. 
It is a good idea to make the wren house small, with an entrance so small that 
the English sparrow cannot get in. 

The male bird arrives first. If there are several boxes on the premises, he 
carries twigs into all of them. Gene Stratton Porter, who has studied many 
of them, says that this is because all the boxes are much too large. The male 
fills in between the door and the space needed for the nest, then when the female 




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arrives she selects the location she likes best and the nest is built in that box. 
You may often see a wren trying to drag in at the tiny door of the house 
a large branched twig much too big to go in. He does not give up easily, but 
pulls and tugs and comes back to it again. Sometimes you can help him by 
breaking the twig so it will go in. The nest proper is made of grass, hair and 
down and often chicken feathers. Wrens have been known to build in the pocket 
of an old coat left hanging outdoors, or in any crevice in boards. There are 
six to eight white eggs, thickly speckled with pinkish brown. 

Wrens which are disturbed become small furies. They will fly directly at 
anyone or anything which molests them, keeping up all the time an angry chat¬ 
ter which sometimes becomes so violent that it sounds like real scolding. Unless 
the sparrows are too numerous, wrens will drive them away. 

Wrens sing all the time, rain or shine. I do not think anyone has tried to| 
imitate the wren’s song. It is just a jumble of loud, clear, bubbling notes. 
Unlike most birds, wrens still sing when nest-making is over, and they retire 
to the woods to moult. 

Insects form almost ninety-eight per cent of wrens’ food. The baby wrens 
eat almost as much as any other little birds. In one case when the mother bird 
did all the feeding, she made one hundred and ten trips to the nest in four and 
a half hours, carrying an insect each time. 

The Barn Swallow. Swallows have been called the “light cavalry of the 
bird army.” They live almost wholly on insects. Their long, pointed tails 
enables them to turn quickly, and they can catch their food on the wing. They* - 
are the only birds which can catch the swift-flying dragon-flies. 

All swallows have short, broad, deeply-cleft bills with which they catch the 
insects. They fly with their bills open, their saliva is sticky, and once an insect 
gets in a swallow’s mouth there is no chance at all that he will get out. When 
a number of insects have been caught, the bird rolls them into a pellet and 
swallows them. The barn swallows’ special food is flies. They also eat manyf 
ants, catching the winged females before they have an opportunity to found 
new colonies. 

Barn swallows are only a trifle larger than English sparrows, but their 
long wings make them appear larger than they are. They are the most graceful 
and beautiful of the swallows. They are distinguished by bright brown markings 
and a deeply forked tail. Notice the white spot on all the tail feathers except 
the middle pair. The female is duller in color than the male, and her tail is not 
so deeply forked. 

They build inside of buildings, on the beams and rafters. The nest is bowl¬ 
shaped and formed of pellets of mud stuck together with saliva and lined with 




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feathers. It is stuck to the rafters and open at the top. There are five to 
seven white eggs, dotted with reddish brown. 

The purple, or house, martins are another species of swallow which will 
stay around our homes if we put up boxes in which they can build. They are 
the largest of the swallows, a beautiful glossy black with purplish tints, and 
they are most sociable, often building close to homes. They live generally in 
colonies; that is, several families will build in the same house, if it is divided 
into several rooms each with a separate opening—a bird apartment building. 
The house should be placed on a pole ten or fifteen feet high. 

Tree, or white-breasted swallows, which we often see on telegraph wires, and 
bank swallows, or sand martins, are two other very interesting members of this 
family. 

The swallow’s graceful, easy movements and the fact that it is almost always 
on the wing causes one writer to address them, “Is it far to heaven, O swallow, 
swallow?” 

Ruby-throated Humming-bird. There are more than a hundred species of 
humming-birds, but the ruby-throated is the only one which comes outside of the 
tropics. Their name comes from the hum made by the vibration of their wings, 
which move so fast that they can hardly be seen when in motion. “Jewels of 
nature” is the fanciful name given them because of the ruby-red throat and 
shining green back. 

Ruby-throat is three and three-quarters inches long, although it looks smaller. 
The long bill is formed to dip deep into flowers and extract the honey and the 
insects found feeding there. The long-throated trumpet flower is a favorite 
feeding place. Humming birds are so small and sphinx moths are so large 
that the moth is often mistaken for the bird. 

Humming birds are quite tame. They dart about quickly, but this is in pursuit 

of the nectar they are gathering, not because they are afraid. They often fly* 

into houses. They do not like anyone near their nests, and will dash at intruders 
with angry squeaks. 

The nest is placed on a small limb which may be no larger than a lead pencil. 
It is shallow, and about as large around as a silver dollar. The outside wall is 
usually made of lichen, bound on with cobwebs. The nest is lined with the 
soft velvety down from the inside of a chestnut burr, if there are any to be 
found in the vicinity. The small size and the lichen covering make the nest look 
like a knot on the limb, or like a tuft of moss. Do you suppose the bird 

knows that the lichen makes the nest difficult for a person to see? Did you 

ever find a humming bird’s nest? 

Our common swifts belong to the same family as the humming-birds, not 
to the swallows. 




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The Song Sparrow. 

“Now, see if you can tell, my dear, 

What bird it is that every year, 

Sings, ‘Sweet, sweet, sweet, very merry cheer'!” 

Someone else thought he was sayng, “Fitz, fitz, fitz, we, we-sir, sir-witz, witz.” 
Whatever he is saying, he is singing sweetly and continuously. “Master singer 
of the winter woods,” he has been called. The song resembles that of the canary. 
He is probably the best known, most abundant and most widely distributed bird 
we have. 

One-seventh of all the birds in the United States belong to the sparrow 
family. There are more than thirty species, and all except the English sparrow 
are counted among the goods birds. The English sparrow eats many weed seeds, 
but it is so quarrelsome and so numerous that it drives away birds we would 
rather have near us, so most people think it is best to get rid of the English 
sparrow. 

Many sparrows stay with us all winter, but most of them go farther south. 
All sparrows are dusty brown, and are streaked with gray; all of them eat many 
weed seeds and some insects. Sparrows have strong, conical bills with which 
they crack the shells of the seeds. Dr. Beal of Iowa estimates that the sparrows 
of that state eat 875 tons of weed seed every year. Sparrows fly slowly and 
heavily, quite unlike the quick graceful flight of the swallow. 

Song sparrows nest in vines and shrubs about the yard, or in low bushes 
along creeks and rivers. You may have seen them running through the grass 
looking like small mice. They probably were hunting ground beetles, grass¬ 
hoppers, or grasshoppers’ eggs, which make up about one-fourth of their food. 
In the nest of grass you may find three to five blue-white eggs spotted with 
brown. 

Other sparrows are the field sparrow, which has a reddish bill; chipping 
sparrow, sometimes called the hair bird because it lines its nest with hair; and 
the tree sparrow, which is found only in the Northern states. Juncoes, snow¬ 
flakes and snowbirds are sparrows which live in Canada, and visit us only in the 
winter, when our sparrows have gone farther south, where they can be more 
sure of finding plenty of weed seeds not covered over by snow. 

Because sparrows are found all over the country, they are one of the birds 
with which we compare other birds in estimating size. The song sparrow is 
six and a quarter inches long. 

The Baltimore Oriole. The Baltimore oriole is seven and a half inches 
long, about four-fifths the size of a robin. The male has a brilliant orange 



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breast, rump and tips of the outer wing feathers. Lowell calls him a “glance of 
summer fire.” The female is dull gray and yellow. 

Orioles like to build their nests as near as possible to a house. They eat 
little fruit, but will keep our trees free from hairy and tent caterpillars, gypsy 
moths, coddling moths, plum curculios, tussock moths, browntails and plant lice. 
They also eat squash and cucumber beetles and in the south the cotton boll weevil. 
So you see that they are very valuable birds. 

Do you know what the nest looks like? It resembles a short, deep hammock 
hung out on the end of a limb. It is made of string and plant fiber, and if 
you leave a bit of bright-colored yarn out in the yard, I suspect you will find 
the oriole has woven it into its nest. The birds collect string and fiber and 
hang it over a twig, fastening it so it will not blow away. When they think 
they have enough, the female pushes her way into the middle of it, and begins 
to push it out and bind it together and fasten it strongly to the twigs and 
small limbs. They use real knots to fasten it. The male all the time during 
building brings more material. When the hammock is finished, the real nest 
of moss, wool, down and hair is built inside. 

As you can see by looking at an oriole’s nest, the mother bird sits away down 
in the bottom, where she can get no air and cannot look out. Gene Stratton 
Porter tells of an oriole which built a window in her hammock. She is sure 
the bird did it on purpose, because she started one, found it would be too high, 
so left it and made another lower down. In the nest the oriole lays five or six 
white eggs, marked with blackish brown. 

The oriole has a sharp, clear whistle which is unlike that of any other bird. 
Its song is appealing, and it sings freely. Orioles sing and chatter all the 
time. I think they tell one another what a good time they are having, and 
what a pretty color this string is, and how fine it will look woven in just here, 
and how the children are getting along, and whether they have their eyes open. 
And the baby birds chatter away—all day and into the night. I think they 
must talk in their sleep, because you will hear chirps and peeps very late, long 
after they should be asleep. 

Orioles winter in Central America. Other names for the Baltimore are 
golden oriole, gold robin, hang-nest, English robin, and fire-bird. You can see 
why they are called by each name. Orioles belong to the blackbird family. 

There are many pretty poems about the oriole. Here is an old verse: 

“Of all the weavers that I know, 

The oriole’s the best; 

High on the apple tree he weaves 
A cozy little nest.” 




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The Blue Jay. The blue jay is so attractive-looking and so persistent with 
his rollicking good humor and his friendliness, that we make excuses for him. 
He needs to be excused, because he is ill-mannered, noisy, quarrelsome, thieving. 
He destroys the eggs and young of other birds. He takes their food and nesting 
material. Even his harsh call, “Jay! Jay! Jay!” sounds antagonistic. He looks 
as though “he would not avoid trouble if he could.” He likes to imitate the call 
of a sparrowhawk or redshoulder and throw the whole bird community into 
hysterics of fear. This may be high spirits, not bad temper, but birds, like 
folks, should consider the consequences of their jokes and not make things too 
unpleasant for others. His blue coat and his call at once suggest the name that 
was given him. 

Jays are sociable. After the nesting season is over, you may find a group 
of them gathered together in the tops of the trees, calling and talking and 
screeching. “Ge-rel-lup” is about the way the three-note call sounds. When the 
mother bird is brooding the male watches over her and sings to her, and he is 
a good provider of food for the babies. He is not harsh to them, but kind and 
gentle, singing softly, instead of making his harsh, discordant sound. His long 
tail keeps' him from traveling well in a high wind. It is amusing to watch his 
efforts at such times. 

The nest is made of twigs and sticks, in bushes or low trees; young pine 
trees are especially liked. There are four pale greenish-blue eggs speckled with 
brown. 

Jays may stay with us all the year, in the orchards or dooryards, or calling 
from the woods. They eat wood-borers, scale insects, grasshoppers and the 
eggs of some caterpillars; these comprise about one-fifth of their food. The 
rest is chiefly acorns, chestnuts and beechnuts. They store nuts, as squirrels do. 
They also eat some corn. The poet Riley has some verses about the jay: 

“Mr Bluejay, full o’ sass, 

In them baseball clothes o’ his, 

Sportin’ round the orchard, jes 
Like he owned the premises.” 

Everard Jack Appleton, in The Quiet Courage, has these verses, in Southern 
negro dialect: 

Jay-bird ain’t no singer, 

But his clothes is gay! 

Flies up in a tree an’ yells 
All de lifelong day. 

Soun’s des lak a dorg-fight 
When he ’gins ter squawl, 

Othuh buhds dey stan’s aside— 

Let’s him do it all! 




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Odder buhds doan’ lahk him, 

Dey des leave him be; 

Go erway an’ let him think 
He done bought dat tree! 

Ain’t he lahk some folkses— 

Fin’ ’em norf an’ souf— 

Might mak folks b’leeve in him, 

Ef he’d shet he mouf 1” 

The Bobolink. Robert of Lincoln is a great favorite. His black and white 
coat is striking, he is friendly, he guards his mate on the nest, feeds the young 
faithfully, and sings beautifully. He gets his name from his call, which sounds 
like “Bob-o-link! Bob-o-link! Bob-o-link! Spink, spank, spink!” He has a long 
song which begins with his name but is soon lost in a multitude of other notes. 
His song is so contagious that Lowell said it “runs down, a brook of laughter 
through the air.” 

He sits on the fence, teeters on the grass, flutters above the clover and flies 
in a topsy-turvy fashion, singing all the while, in an irrepressible way. Bob¬ 
olink, you know, is related to the blackbirds, and his alarm note resembles theirs. 

Bobolinks come north early in May. By the middle of August the* male has 
lost his beautiful coat, has stopped singing, and he and his mate are preparing 
to leave for the winter home in Brazil. In the South they loiter among the rice 
fields of South Carolina, gorging themselves on this dainty until they become 
known as ricebirds or reed birds. In October we find them in Jamaica. By this 
time they are so fat the islanders call them butter birds. If you look on the map 
and locate the headquarters of the Paraguay River, you will, find the winter 
home of the bobolinks. In April they are again in Florida on their way north. 
Here they are called May birds. 

Originally bobolinks were found only in the eastern part of the United 
States, but, like many other birds, they have followed emigration, until now 
they are found as far west at Utah and Nevada. 

Bobolinks nest on the ground. The female selects a spot well away from 
the edge of a field—a spot which looks like many other spots, so that no one 
can locate the nest. Then she sits down and turns about until she has worked 
out a small hollow. This she lines with dead leaves and grass. Sometimes she 
pulls the growing leaves and grasses together over her, to form a sort of arch. 
Bobolinks especially like clover fields. Because there is no way of marking 
the location of the nest, many young bobolinks are killed, but in spite of the 
numbers which are killed in such ways and in the rice fields of the South they 
do not seem to be decreasing in numbers. The white eggs, heavily spotted with 
brown, will probably all hatch out, and there will be four to six young birds. 



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Do you remember the verses in which the bobolink sings, “Nobody knows but 
my mate and I where our nest and our nestlings lie?” They know that the 
nest is well hidden. All the time the mother is brooding, the gay, happy father 
bird is sitting somewhere within sound, singing to her as cheerily as he knows 
how. In case of heavy rains before the young are old enough to fly, the young 
birds may be drowned. 

The United States government estimates that bobolinks eat ten per cent of 
the rice crop each year, but in the North he eats only insects and weed seeds. 

The full-grown birds are seven and a quarter inches long. 

The Red-headed Woodpecker. Redhead and his brothers, the flicker (or as 
it is sometimes called, yellow-hammer, high hole, or yarup) and the yellow-bellied 
sapsucker, are all fine guardsmen for our trees. They use their bills so effec¬ 
tively and so steadily to drill holes in trees in search of grubs that sometimes 
they sound like a whole battery of triphammers. The bill is also used to excavate 
a place for a nest. 

While the woodpecker is working it uses its stiff, pointed tail feathers as a 
prop. The claws have two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward, to 
help support the bird when it is climbing. The tongue may be twice as long 
as the head, and it has sharp barbs on the end. The bill is long and strong, 
and has a chisel point to cut with. You see how well these birds are equipped 
for the work they do. 

Nearly half of the woodpeckers’ food is boring insects, which if they were 
not checked would kill the trees. These birds also eat ants, seeds and nut meats. 
The redhead is not as hard a worker in search of food as some of the othei 4 
birds; sometimes it simply sits and watches for flying beetles to get in the way 
of its long tongue. 

Redhead is noisy and quarrelsome, and eats the eggs and the young of other 
birds, but because it does so much to help us it is seldom killed. In some sections 
where these birds drum on buildings they keep the people from sleeping and may 
even deface the structure. 

In such case someone is apt to go looking for them with a gun. That is 
unfortunate, because we have few birds which are as good protectors for our 
orchard and shade trees. 

Woodpeckers build new nests each year, leaving the old ones for other birds. 
Holes in fence posts or in trees in the orchards or woods are all used. The 
eggs are four to six, and are glossy white. 

Adult birds are nine and three-quarter inches long—almost the size of the 
robin. The entire head and upper breast of adults is red. The young birds 
have a gray head and back streaked with darker coloring. 






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Cardinal Bird. This beautiful bird received its name from its brilliant 
color, which characteristic also gives it the name of redbird in some localities. 
Another and more exact name is cardinal grosbeak; the latter word means large 
beak, and this is particularly appropriate because its beak is large and thick, 
Quite contrary to what you might expect, the beak is also red, and this is very 
unusual among birds. 

In addition to the peculiar appearance of the cardinal, described above, this 
bird can be readily distinguished by a crest of feathers sticking nearly upright 
on the top of the head. There is a circle of black surrounding the beak. 

The cardinal uses his strong beak to crush the solidest of seeds, or the hardest 
and driest grains. In the autumn, if the farmer overlooks an ear of corn on the 
stalk at harvest time the cardinals are likely to find it; they will husk the ear and 
easily crack the hardest kernels. Besides corn, their food consists of wheat, rye, 
oats, a few berries, weed seeds, grasshoppers, flies and beetles. If these birds 
were as numerous as are some species of our feathered friends, they might be 
a nuisance because they would destroy growing crops; but their number is com¬ 
paratively small and the damage they do is of little consequence. They repay 
the farmer and gardener many times over by destroying worms and insects 
which are injurious to crops. 

You do not see the cardinal around your house in the summer time; he pre¬ 
fers some secreted place and does not like human company to an extent which is 
true of some other birds. He shows a fondness for living in thickets and shrubbery 
close to river bottoms and near grain fields. He will only visit your house when 
he is hungry, and this is very seldom in the summer time. In the winter, if he is 
in your vicinity, he may be expected to come to see you, and on these occasions if 
he could talk he would ask you for grain and other cardinal delicacies. He will 
be a fairly regular visitor during the cold weather if you will treat him right. 

The nest of the cardinal is usually built in a thicket or in a low tree, and it 
is made rather loosely of the same materials that many other birds use for their 
nests, that is, grains, wheat stems, twigs, etc. The mother bird lays from two to 
five dull white or grayish eggs, flecked with brown. When the little birds break 
from the eggs they are homely brown little things, and this is a wise precaution 
of nature, for if the helpless birdlets were to have at once the beautiful brilliant 
color of the father, they would all be devoured by bird enemies, and the species 
of cardinals would be extinct. 

This bird is a sweet singer and sometimes is confined as a cage bird, but 
in most states it is now contrary to law to cage the cardinal, because it does not 
live long in captivity. 



School Days 


373 


The Story of Flowers 

E. D. Foster 


HERE k magic in the very word “Flowers!” At its sound we see at once 



damp spring woods, with early violets in shady hollows and jack-in-the- 


“*■ pulpits preaching to waving grasses; buttercups in sunny patches, pale yellow 
primroses in the hedges and near the ditches; gorgeous tulips, delicate daffodils and 
the proud narcissus in the garden; dandelions on the lawns. Or we may think of 
florists’ shops with purple-red American Beauty roses, their stems as tall as we are, 
their price a dollar a blossom! Or of pure-white Easter lilies, pansies with 
enameled faces, moss roses sheltered from the wind, tiger lilies dazzling the eyes, 
magnolias sending out overpowering perfume from their white velvet blossoms, 
and fringed carnations spicing the garden paths. Then we shall think of autumn, 
gold, brown and red, the fields and roadsides yellow with golden-rod, purple 
with asters and red with fiery leaves and berries. Spring, summer, autumn, each is 
jeweled with its gem-like flowers, even winter bearing on its white bosom the 
green arid red holly, and the yellow-green mistletoe. Flowers! They speak a 
language which even a babe may understand. 

There is added magic in each flower name if we know what the poets and 
story writers, what the old legends and fairy tales, tell us about each flower. 
We shall explore among the flowers to-day and learn something of their story. 

The Rose. From the beginning the rose has been the “queen of flowers,” 
the best beloved of all. Our heathen Northern ancestors, the very ancient 
Scandinavians, made it the flower of Frigga, or Freya, who was their loveliest 
goddess, beautiful and sweet, the goddess of love and spring. The old Greeks 
and Romans, too, made it the flower of the goddess of love and beauty, whom 
they called Venus. They tell in a myth which has come down to us how the 
rose was once white only; but Venus loved Adonis, a beautiful youth who was 
slain by a wild boar; as she ran to help him, she pricked her foot on a thorn, 
dyeing the rose red, a color it has had since. Of course such a story would not 
do for our Christian forefathers, so they tell another tale—how the red roses 
sprang from some burning brands that were put out just in time to save a beau¬ 
tiful Christian girl from death by fire. They also tell how the rose of Jericho 
sprang up everywhere that Mary and Joseph rested on their flight into Egypt 
with the infant Jesus. So after that the rose was dedicated to the Virgin 
Mary, and prayers to her were said on the rosary, which may mean that every 
prayer was a rose, or that for beads the smooth, hard seed pods were used. 

Perhaps the most beautiful story of the rose is told by the Persians, who 




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have a sacred book called the “Garden of Roses” and a festival called the “Feast 
of the Roses.” They say that the nightingale is the lover of the rose; that 
when he sings his plaintive melody the rose opens; that he hovers over her 
till he faints with her sweetness; and that he sings his saddest song when the 
roses are gathered. 

Our lovely flower figures much in history, too. There was once in Eng¬ 
land a “War of the Roses,” when the soldiers under one leader wore red roses 
on their helmets and those under the other wore white. And a legend tells us 
that because the war was ended by the Prince of the Red Rose marrying the 
Princess of the White Rose, the bushes that year bore roses of both colors, and 
roses of mingled red and white! 

Furthermore, roses and other flowers used to be part of the rent paid for 
land; and in France up to the sixteenth century, a nobleman, each year before 
the meeting of the assembly, had to strew the palace halls with rose leaves and 
give rose garlands to each member. Crowns of them were prizes and rewards, 
garlands of them decorated shrines, festivals and feasts. 

The Lily. This beautiful flower runs a close second to the rose in favor. 
Its tall stateliness has given it the title of “king of flowers;” as the rose stands 
for love, so the lily stands for purity and peace. It, too, is devoted in the 
Roman Catholic Church to the worship of the Virgin Mary, and is shown again 
and again in religious pictures. One very ancient story tells how the lilies got 
their milky whiteness from the Milky Way in the sky! Another tells how the 
water lily (which doesn’t really belong to the same family) was found one 
morning after a fairy had used it in crossing a pond and then had passed on, 
and left it there. It certainly is a dainty footpad for a fairy. The lily-of-the- 
valley is one of the sweetest, most exquisite members of the Lily Family, and 
was once thought to be of great value as a medicine, when distilled under 
the new moon and charmed in other ways. The tiger lily, shown in the chart, 
is a gorgeous relative which was brought from Turkey in Asia, and is there¬ 
fore sometimes called “Turk’s cap.” It is a red-orange color with black spots. 

But perhaps the most interesting lore about the lily is its use on the French 
coat of arms. We have all heard about the “Lily of France,” as we have about 
the “Rose of England.” When France had kings they used the lily on their 
banners. No one is quite sure whether it is the real white lily or the blue iris 
(fleur-de-lis), not a lily at all, which is the “Lily of France”; but what does 
it matter, as long as the “Lily of France” always means to a Frenchman what 
the American Eagle means to us? 

Flower Families. We have spoken of the Lily Family, as if flowers 
were grouped like human beings. They are grouped in exactly that way, if we 




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375 


include in our family our cousins to the last degree. Perhaps we ought to say 
the Lily clan or tribe; but the botanist doesn’t say it that way. The members 
of the Lily Family all have certain traits that separate them from other fami¬ 
lies. That is true of the Rose Family, another large group. Suppose we see 
what familiar flowers belong in the Rose and Lily families; then we can see what 
common characteristics they have. To the Rose Family belong the apple, pear, 
plum, hawthorn, cherry, almond, strawberry, raspberry and blackberry plants, 
besides all the roses you can think of. To the Lily Family belong, besides the tiger 
lilies and white lilies, the tulip, hyacinth, yucca, onion and asparagus. Would 
you ever believe that the beautiful lily and the onion are related? 

The Tulip. While we ponder over what each family has in common, let 
us think of some interesting things about another member of the Lily Family. 
The tulip, for instance, has customs and history connected with it. This gay 
flower gets its name from a turban; a very good name, indeed, if we remember 
how Turks look with their heads wound up in yards and yards of red or blue 
or yellow cloth. When a Persian man (who always wears a turban) wishes to 
tell a damsel that his face is on fire with love for her and his heart is burnt to a 
coal with love he hands her a tulip (look inside of a tulip), and they are engaged! 
History says that a German brought the tulip bulb from Constantinople to 
Germany in 1559, and started all Europe, especially Holland, to growing tulips 
and making them larger and gayer than ever. 

Daffodil and Narcissus. We might almost believe that the narcissus and 
the daffodil belong to our Lily Family; but their family name is Amaryllis. They, 
too, are beloved of the poets, and they figure in song and story. A tiny daffodil 
is the flower honored on the Chinese New Year, which comes a month later than 
ours. It is to them, as to us, a symbol of new birth. Sometimes village people 
call it “lent lily,” as it appears before Easter like a herald of resurrection. 
Some of the most beautiful poems in our language are dedicated to the daffodils. 
One poet tells us how he saw them— 

“Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze—” 

outdoing the waves that danced, too, in their glee. That poem is full of the joy of 
springtime flowers. 

The word narcissus hasn’t so pretty a meaning, as we shall see, when we 
hear the story the Greeks tell. Narcissus was once a very beautiful Greek boy 
whom the nymph Echo loved. But Narcissus scorned her coldly, and she faded 
away in the woods till she became only a voice. Meanwhile, he wandered about 
in the woods till he came to a brook. His mother had seen to it that he should 
never look into a mirror, for it had been prophesied that a mirror would be his 



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doom. Alas! the calm water of the brook was a beautiful mirror. Narcissus saw 
himself in it, but thought it to be someone else. He fell in love with his own 
image and hung over the water’s edge, constantly pleading with his image to come 
to him. He was scorned as he had scorned Echo. There he took root, and there 
the narcissus stands to this day, bending over the brook to look at itself. 

The Three P’s. The poppy, the pansy, and the primrose have also a story 
halo about them. The poppy is an old, old flower, beloved of the Chinese, 
Egyptians and the Greeks, who knew, as we do, that the seeds of the poppy con¬ 
tain a delicate salad oil, and from the flowers come opium for smoking and for 
medicine. The flower meant to them sleep-giving, and they devoted it to the 
god of sleep. Since the red poppy springs up among the grain, the Greeks also 
thought that it belonged to Ceres, the goddess of the harvest. To us the poppy 
means California, with rows and rows of marvelously-tinted flowers with perfect 
petals like silk gauze. Or it may mean to the farmer, as the daisy and the wild 
rose often do, troublesome weeds in his grain fields. Did you ever look upon the 
daisy as a weed ? 

But our sweetest associations are very recent. Some of us have heard much 
about the poppies in the wonderful poem, “In Flanders Fields,” and the 
American soldier boys who sleep beneath them: 

In Flanders Fields 

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow 
Between the crosses, row on row, 

That mark our place; and in the sky 
The larks, still bravely singing, fly, 

Scarce heard amid the guns below. 

We are the Dead. Short days ago 
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, 

Loved and were loved, and now we lie 
In Flanders Fields. 

Take up our quarrel with the foe; 

To you from failing hands we throw 
The torch; be yours to hold it high, 

If ye break faith with us who die, 

We shall not sleep, tho’ poppies grow 
In Flanders Fields. 

—Lieut. John McCrae. 

The pansy is a relative of the violet and, like it, has been taken as a type 
for constancy and modesty. Its name means “thought,” or “think of me,” and 
so we give it to friends, or plant it on the graves of our loved ones. The beautiful 




School Days 


377 


old name of “heart’s ease” is even more comforting; the poets love to tell of it and 
how it grows more profusely in the gardens of the poor and lowly than in those of 
the rich and proud. 

The last “p,” the primrose, is the best beloved of English meadow flowers. 
It means the “first rose.” It is very often called cowslip—and English girls make 
huge balls of it for their May-day festivals. Others call it the “key-flower,” and 
many legends are told of how it opens doors. One legend relates how it opened 
the door of memory to a knight returning from the wars; how as he slept among 
the primroses he was a boy again in his childhood’s home. Another tells how a 
bunch of primrose keys opens to a favored child the door of a castle, wherein 
lie gold and gems. The child takes of the treasures but returns the keys, that 
he may avoid a black dog, Who will follow him forever, if he neglects that duty. 
The evening primrose shown on the chart is not of the big Primrose Family, 
but belongs to a family all its own. It is a lovely, fragrant thing that opens! 
suddenly at sunset, gives out a delicious perfume, and closes again at sunrise. 

Carnation, Holly and Mistletoe. These are highly-favored and are all 
connected with religious beliefs. The carnation belongs to the Pink Family, 
and was in Greek mythology the favored flower of Jove. Perhaps for that 
reason it was used so much in coronations or crowns, which may account also 
for its name. The holly and the mistletoe were also connected with heathen 
rites once upon a time, though now we consider them connected decidedly with 
the birth of Christ and with Christianity. The Druids, old British priests, used 
the holly and mistletoe in their ceremonies; and our Christmas celebrations are 
celebrations derived in part from those of ancient times. However, our meaning 
is right, and that only matters. The holly means “holy/' and our rather confused 
ancestors evidently thought it was a crown of holly that was put on Christ’s 
head at his crucifixion. At any rate, the holly, which is green, with red berries 
at Christmas time, when the rest of the world is white, is now the symbol of love 
and good wishes. The mistletoe, a queer, pale-green plant hanging on the trees 
when they are bare of leaves, and getting a good deal of its food from the tree 
it hangs on, has a sad heathen story connected with it. Frigga, the wife of 
the god Odin in Norse mythology, had a beloved son, Baldur; when he was 
born she thought she had made everything in the world promise it wouldn’t 
harm him. Alas! she forgot to warn the mistletoe. When the gods were 
amusing themselves throwing things at Baldur and seeing them fall harmless, 
Loki, the god of mischief, gave the blind god Holdur a sprig of mistletoe to 
throw. It killed Baldur; and his mother grieves for him six months of every 
year. When Freya grieves, we have autumn and winter. But let us rather 
think how the mistletoe is connected with friends and lovers at Christmas time. 




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Bluebell and Buttercup. These are humble field flowers, common to' both 
Europe and the United States. Fairy lore makes both of them beloved of the 
fairies; the bluebells ring for their weddings and dances, the buttercups make 
bowls for their tables. 

Other Field Flowers. The goldenrod, aster, black-eyed Susan and 
bitterroot are field flowers, too, of a later season and not so simple a type as the 
bluebell and buttercup. The first three belong to a family called Composites, 
because they are really not one flower, but a combination of numerous flowers. 
The centers are often of one kind of flower and the rays of another kind. Pick 
an aster or dandelion apart and note how it is formed. These composites and 
the bitterroot, which is of the same family, seem more distinctively to belong 
to our country, for we have the most varieties, and they are much commoner 
with us. The aster, to be sure, has a Japanese relative in the big, ragged and 
beautiful chrysanthemum, and it has been known in Europe and America for 
a long time. Its name has the pretty meaning of “star”—not so fitting for the 
purple New England aster, of course, as for the European white one. But 
purple fields of it east and west are true of America only. Also the rose-pink 
bitterroot carpets a fruitful valley in Montana, and has given it the name of 
Bitterroot Valley. Roadside stretches of yellow goldenrod are seldom seen 
outside of America. In fact, there is but little goldenrod to be found except in 
this country, where we have at least twenty-seven varieties. 

Black-Eyed Susan. This attractive flower decorates our summer fields, 
too, in huge patches. Rather coarse flowers they are, but their sturdy, honest 
faces and their brown and gold color make as strong an appeal to us as many 
of the daintier garden flowers. The black-eyed Susan is a relative of the sun¬ 
flower, about which there is a pretty story. 

The Story of the Sunflower. The nymph Clytie fell in love with the 
beautiful sun-god, Apollo. Each morning she watched for his rising, each even¬ 
ing she gazed at his setting. Her love was a silent, secret love, and Apollo 
knew nothing of it—would not have heeded her, perhaps, if he had. So devoted 
did she become that her face was always toward the sun, following his chariot 
of fire across the heavens. Gradually she took root and became a flower, 
which to this day turns its face in adoration towards the sun, throughout the 
livelong day. Whether the Greeks meant Clytie to represent our sunflower or 
one they call heliotrope doesn’t matter; the story suits our sunflower, which 
keeps its face towards the sun. The poet Moore thus refers to this fact: 


* * * the sunflower turns on her god when he sets. 
The same look which she turned when he rose. 





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379 


The Rhododendron and the Magnolia. We have two other ornamental, 
American flowers, among many which could be named—the rhododendron and 
the magnolia, both with European connections. The former grows on a deco¬ 
rative garden bush, and is a close relative of the azalea. The magnolia grows 
on a dusky Southern tree, from which its white velvet blossoms, sometimes 
almost a foot across, gleam out like pale, fragrant moons. There is a tale that 
the velvet petals will turn black, if touched, so delicate is the flower. 

Parts of a Flower. If you think we have nothing but song and story that 
is interesting about flowers, you are quite mistaken. Each little flower in itself 
is a miracle. While flowers all have common traits, still there is as much variety 
in the flower kingdom as there is a never-ending study of marvels. 

Suppose we take a simple flower like the buttercup for our first investigation. 
We notice the small green leaves of the outer circle; that is the calyx (husk), 
each leaf being a sepal (covering). The beautiful yellow petals make the 
corolla (a little crown). Now in the center we notice tiny slender stalks carrying 
small bags at their tops; those are stamens (the word stamen means to stand), 
the bags being anthers and containing the yellow dust called pollen. In the very 
center, covering the stalk “knob” from which the flower parts radiate, are the 
pistils, tiny flask-shaped objects with a sticky top. Many flowers contain only 
one such pistil, and many have fewer stamens. The corolla is often quite 
differently shaped; it may be bell-shaped, as in the bluebell; or formed into a 
keel with two wings, or standards, like the Pea Family flowers; or lipped, like 
a snapdragon; or tubular, like a honeysuckle. 

How Seeds are Scattered. There are numberless shapes of flowers, as 
there are numberless colorings. But whatever the shape and color, flowers all 
do the same work and have about the same problems. They are the seed-makers 
of the plants; and a very big job it is. The pistil is really the seed pod, as you 
will see if you cut one through, and the whole flower is concerned with getting 
the seeds in that pistil ripened and scattered. Two problems must be solved; 
first, how to get pollen from its own stamens or from stamens of other flowers 
on to the sticky part of its pistil, for unless that is done no seeds grow; second, 
how to get the seeds scattered as widely as possible, since they will not grow 
if they fall too near the mother plant. 

Why do you suppose the bees hover so constantly around flowers? Because 
they find there a delicious honey-drink called nectar, and also the bee-bread, 
pollen. That is true of moths, butterflies, and ants, too. Why do you suppose 
the flower manufactures such food? Because it needs insects, bees, butterflies 
and moths to carry the pollen from one flower to the pistil of another. That is 
one way of solving the first problem. Watch a bee in a sweet pea; see how he 




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comes out dusted with yellow pollen, which he rubs off on the pistil of the next 
flower. Oftentimes a flower can use only one particular insect; then it shapes 
its flowers and deposits its nectar where just that one kind of insect can get it. 
It is a wonderfully fascinating subject, which you can read more about in your 
botany. This you must remember: the shape, the color, the fragrance of the 
flower, all have meanings, all are meant to help the flower in its big work of 
making and scattering its seeds. 

The wind, too, is used to sweep the pollen from some flowers to the pistils 
of others. That is a very wasteful process, but tree flowers and grass flowers 
often use that method. The wind is of more importance, however, in scattering 
the seeds. Have you ever noticed the winged seeds of the maple, or the feathery 
umbrella on the dandelion seed? They show how the flowers fit their seeds to 
sail afar off on the wind. Nuts and fruits are seeds, too, adapted for scattering 
by animals or man. The squirrel carries off nuts, hides them in the ground and 
forgets some, which thereupon grow. Man eats the sweet fruit, but throws 
away the pit, which is the seed the flower wants scattered. Now you can guess 
why the Spanish needle and the burs stick to you or to woolly animals in the! 
autumn. Perhaps, too, you will remember how some seed pods, like the poppy, 
crack open near the top, and the wind uses them like pepper boxes, strewing 
their black dust all around. Some seed pods, like those of the snapdragon, 
explode with a report like that of a popgun, scattering their own seeds by that 
force. And sometimes, as in the case of the tumble weed, the whole plant is 
pulled up by the wind, and it rolls off across the country, scattering its seeds. 

There is much more that is fascinating about flowers; how some catch 
insects and digest their juices; how they mimic poisonous flowers or insects for 
protection; how they manufacture food for themselves and their insect colonies; 
how water-flowers manage their problems, and so on. If you watch in your 
garden you can learn a great deal; if you read about flowers in books and mag¬ 
azines you can learn still more. And the more you learn, the more you will believe 
in the miracle and beauty of flowers. 




School Days 


381 


Story of J^ites 

E. D. Foster 

K ITE flying in the springtime! This is one of the jolliest and most 
interesting sports we can enjoy out of doors. It is real fun to feel the 
tug of the kite far up in the air, to know that we can haul it in, or give 
it more string and let it fly higher, and to watch it swaying under the blue sky 
like a captive bird. 

Boys and girls in many different parts of the world have been flying kites for 
hundreds of years. To-day, brown-skinned boys on the other side of the world 
are having the same good times as their white brothers, making and flying kites. 
In fact, kite-flying is more common in Japan, China and other countries of Asia 
than in our own. One good reason for this is that the bamboo plant, which grows 
in these countries, provides a light, strong wood that is easily bent but not easily 
broken, and is the best wood in the world for the frame of a soaring kite. 

There are several stories to explain the invention of the kite; it is hard to tell 
who thought of it first, when we remember that even savage tribes were flying 
kites centuries ago. The people of Korea have one of the most interesting stories 
about it. They say that the first kite was made and sent up into the air by one of 
their generals, who wished to encourage his soldiers just before a battle. This 
general fastened a lantern to the kite, and when the soldiers saw the bright light in 
the sky they thought a new star had been placed in the heavens as a sign of divine 
help for their cause. This is a pretty story; suppose we make believe that it is true, 
anyway. 

In China they have special kite days, when men and boys by the thousands make 
for the hillsides to enjoy themselves. Some of their kites are so big that they will 
lift men off their feet into the air. Humming kites, having round holes provided 
with vibrating cords, are very popular. In some parts of Eastern Asia kite-fighting 
is a common outdoor sport. The strings are rubbed with a mixture of glue and 
crushed glass to make them stiff. The owner of one kite will try to get it on the 
windward side of another, then let it drift against the second kite and with a 
sudden jerk cut the string in two. It takes a good deal of skill to cut down a kite 
or to keep one’s own kite safe. 

Useful Kites. We must not forget, however, that kites are more than play¬ 
things. Our Weather Bureau Service uses kites to learn about conditions in the 
air, such as temperature and amount of moisture. Small instruments that record 
these facts are fastened to wires, which are lifted far up into the air by teams of 
kites flying tandem. Kites have also been used to take photographs from the air, 





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to show signals on the battlefield, and in wireless telegraphy. We might have 
heard more about them in the great World War, if it had not been for the wonder¬ 
ful record of the aeroplanes. 

Benjamin Franklin was the first man in our own country to use a kite to aid 
science. In the year 1752 he sent up a kite during a thunderstorm, and by means 
of a wire running down from the kite along the string, he proved that lightning is 
electricity. Scientists tell us that Franklin might easily have been killed by 
lightning when he tried this experiment. To-day, men who work with kites know 
how to protect themselves. 

KITE MAKING 

The Common Kite. The simplest form of kite and the one seen most often is 
the plain surface kite whose framework consists of two sticks of different lengths, 



placed one upon the other so that they form a cross. When the sticks are fastened 
together with a cord, as here shown, they are said to be lashed. We mi^t be care- 







School Days 


383 


ful to have the two opposite sides of the framework equal, because otherwise our 
kite will jerk to one side, or perhaps come down suddenly to the ground, or maybe 
not go up at all. To find the center of each stick by measuring with a piece of 
string is an easy matter. The two ends of each stick should also be the same in 
weight, and if after balancing the sticks over a knife blade you find that the ends 
vary, carefully whittle down the parts that are too thick. You will find that soft, 
tough woods, like spruce and basswood, are best to work with. 

Stringing and Covering. These are very important steps in kite-making. The 
string goes all around the ends of the framework, providing a support for the 


10"Piece of N Q 4Peed 
for Cross piecet 



34"Slits4Tro'ra Ends 
13"PiecesofN Q 4 
Peed. //m 

N g lPashedThrough Sift H g Z 

N°3 Through Slitsm m and N Q 2 


Cord Tied to llXlPMs.-nilaPaper 

Ends of Peeds to Cover Kite 



oimpler; Curved 
"Wired Ends. ~ Bow and Notched Ends' 


covering. Use strong cord that will not break easily. Cut notches in the ends of 
the sticks, and then stretch the cord through these slits, fastening it at the top of 
the spine. To cover the frame, paste light-weight paper over it, turning the edges 
neatly down over the cord. Stout tissue paper in bright colors makes a very pretty 
kite, but plain wrapping paper or even newspaper will do very nicely if nothing 
else is at hand. 

Making the Bridle. Most kites need a bridle to fly at the right slant and with 
proper poise. Bridles are rather loose strings fastened to the framework. Where 
the strings cross the kite line is attached. Different kinds of bridles are here shown. 
The diagram with the letters a. b. c. d. e shows a bridle fastened at the bottom of 
the spine ( d) and the place where the bow and spine cross (a). The kite line is 















































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attached at the point c, and the length from a to & is the same as the distance 
from a to c. Also, bd and cd are equal. If we should pull the bridle over to the 
left, c would just touch e. The upper of the other two diagrams shows a three- 
string bridle, and the lower one shows a four-string bridle. 

Lines and Tails. The line of our play kite needs to be only good cotton 
string, the harder twisted the better. For stronger pulling kites some people 
like twisted linen twine, shoemaker’s thread or cord. It must be light and 
strong; scientists have found that for their working kites piano wire is best. 

The weight of its tail will keep the kite in position and at the right angle 
to the wind. We also like to see a tail trailing gracefully behind. It should 
be from ten to fifteen times the length of the kite, and should be made of a 
cord, on which strips of paper or cloth are tied at intervals. A heavier bunch 
hangs at the end. For extra beauty we might use colored paper balls or some 
made of three intersecting cardboard discs, or we might use light ropes with 
tassels, our Christmas stock of paper, rope and tinsel coming in handy. 

Tailless Kites. But if we are up to date, we must know how to make tailless 
kites. These are always regular in form, with the bow bent backward, and 
the covering baggy. The tailless “Eddy” has a spine and bow, in form of a 
cross just like the first kite described; but the bow is bent backward by means 
of a brace stick (about three inches long in a three-foot kite) inserted between 
the middle of the bow, and a string stretched between the ends. When the 
covering is put on, we cut it \y 2 inches larger around than the frame, and fold 
in only y 2 inch. That will make the necessary bagginess. 

Box Kite. Another very modern 
tailless kite is the box kite, which is a 
little harder to make. It looks like two 
square boxes with no bottoms or tops, 
set one on top the other, with sticks 
to keep them the right distance apart. 

We need four sticks of equal length, 
four shorter sticks for braces, two 
stout cloth strips and glue. We glue 
or stitch half-inch hems on each band 
and join the ends to make two 
separate cloth “belts.” We glue the 
bands to the sticks, as shown, mak¬ 
ing the box shapes. Then we notch the cross-pieces to fit into the frame sticks 
inside the boxes, glue and lash them tight. The cross-pieces must be long 
enough to brace the sides firmly. The bridle and line are then attached. 


















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